A New Zealand dirt bike rider activated his 406 PLB on 8 February in the Akatarawa Forest Park near Wellington after breaking several bones in his right leg.
He was coming around a corner at less than 15 km/h when his bike skidded on rocks and his right leg twisted out at a 45-degree angle as it caught on a rock behind him.
He heard his leg snap as his tibia and fibula broke in two. His ankle was also broken.
He bought his 406 beacon almost 10 years ago and has taken it on every ride, but this was the first time he used it.
“There was no cellphone coverage where we were so my friend went up to the main track to see if he could get any coverage there. He couldn’t, but he ran into some rangers who came back with their utility vehicle. They had a radio and told us help was already on the way.”
A paramedic was winched down but the helicopter was unable to lift Reed from the scene, so he was strapped to the back of the ranger’s utility vehicle and driven about 5 km to the nearest helipad.
“The four to five kilometres or so strapped across the back of the utility vehicle along the rocky Karapoti trails was the most painful experience of my life,” he says.
The bumpy journey was prolonged by frequent stops so that the paramedic could give him more pain medication.
Read more here:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/124334141/rescued-dirt-biker-one-of-100000-kiwis-carrying-distress-beacons
https://www.miragenews.com/it-could-be-difference-between-life-and-517838/