FEBRUARY 25, 2026 – A flight crew with the Tennessee Army National Guard, based at Joint Base McGhee-Tyson, rescued a hiker suffering from severe cold-weather injuries Feb. 24 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m., the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were notified of an injured hiker needing medical assistance and rapid transport to a nearby hospital. The hiker was at the Double Springs Gap Shelter in a remote area of the park, south of Gatlinburg and near the North Carolina border.
Once the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency was notified of the possible mission, Tennessee National Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Smokey assembled a flight crew and readied a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for flight.
After the mission was approved, the aircraft departed Joint Base McGhee-Tyson about 9:30 a.m., flying directly to the rescue site determined by park service rangers. The rangers were in contact with the hiker through a Garmin inReach that the hiker used to send an emergency distress signal to initiate the rescue.
The Tennessee Army National Guard flight crew consisted of two pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Luke Hargrave and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Corey Holloway; the crew chief, Sgt. Christopher Burke; and two flight paramedics, Master Sgt. Tracy Banta and Sgt. 1st Class Nolan Ogle.
Fifteen minutes after launching, the aircraft and crew arrived at the Double Springs Gap Shelter and located the hiker. Burke lowered Ogle to the ground by hoist to do a quick medical assessment and prepare the hiker for transport.
Ogle rendered aid for a few minutes, and the hiker and Ogle were then hoisted into the Black Hawk helicopter hovering above them. The hiker continued to receive first aid on the helicopter. Once everyone was safely aboard, the aircraft flew the patient to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
The aircraft landed about 10:25 a.m. at the medical center, where medical personnel rushed the patient into the emergency room. Once the patient was safely in the care of medical professionals, the aircraft returned to Louisville and landed just before 11 a.m.
By Tennessee National Guard