WHEN Scott Spredborough left home for a day’s mustering on February 20 last year he didn’t realise he wouldn’t walk back through the same door for a month.
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The helicopter pilot boarded his aircraft just like every other day and began mustering cattle on Brian and Anne Cameron’s property, about 80 to 90km north of Roma, Queensland, before heading to the RED Day celebrations at Bymount for his mate and pilot Jeff “Red” Dean later that day.
Everything was going according to plan until two bullocks continued to break away from the mob so Scott went to find them.
He flew past a high voltage power line that he had noticed many times before and after pushing the bullocks out of thick currant bushes with the help of a horseman, he began flying back to the mob.
Thinking there may be more cattle hiding in the bushes, he continued to look down behind him and when his eyes glanced in front of him he noticed the powerlines.
Despite his best efforts to try and fly between the wires his tail rotor hit one of the earth wires and he spun out of control crashing to the ground.
Thankfully still conscious, Scott realised he had two hours worth of fuel on board and managed to crawl a safe distance away from the wreckage despite being unaware he had a broken sternum, ribs and back.
The horseman working with Scott used a UHF to call for help and within 45 minutes the CareFlight helicopter, which was scheduled to attend RED Day, had arrived with a doctor on hand to treat the injured pilot.
Scott is almost certain that if it wasn’t for the fast response of the aeromedical care service, now known as LifeFlight, he wouldn’t be walking today.
“I just kept saying I don’t think I’m that bad, I’m just a bit winded,” he said.
“They just kept saying stay still.
“When I think about it, when they did the x-rays and CT scans my L1 vertebrae was broken right through and it was separated so if I had of moved or walked away or anything I could have severed my spine and I would be a paraplegic now.
“Just the fact that CareFlight were there that quick and were able to do that otherwise if I had to wait there for a couple of hours I would have tried to move and tried to walk.
“I owe the fact that I can walk now to CareFlight.”
After undergoing surgery to have metal rods placed in his back, Scott returned home a month later and is now back in his helicopter.
Scott is sharing his story publicly for the first time in the hope that more people will understand the need for the service.
“They only have to save one life and it’s paid for itself,” he said.
“(Red) might have been looking down on me...but otherwise there was an angel somewhere. A lot of things went my way that day.”
While he wasn’t able to make it to RED Day last year, Scott is planning to make an appearance this year and again donate.
He encouraged others to support the cause as community donations fund almost one third of CareFlight’s operations.