The City of Phoenix agreed in December 2021 to pay up to $450,000 to settle the Katalin Metro helicopter rescue lawsuit, resolving negligence claims brought by the 74-year-old hiker whose rescue basket spun roughly 174 times beneath a Phoenix Fire Department helicopter above Piestewa Peak in June 2019.112 News. Woman Gets $450,000 From Phoenix for Helicopter Rescue That Spun Wildly Out of Control The Phoenix City Council approved the settlement unanimously on December 1, 2021.
What Happened on Piestewa Peak
Metro was hiking with her husband George on June 4, 2019, when she tripped and fell on a rock, breaking her nose and injuring her hand and leg.2NBC News. Hiker Who Spun Uncontrollably During Helicopter Rescue Thought She Was Going to Die The Phoenix Fire Department responded and decided to extract her by helicopter. According to her attorney, K. Thomas Slack, Metro told rescuers she did not want to be airlifted and asked to be walked down. An on-scene evaluation indicated she did not require emergency air transport, but the fire department proceeded with the hoist anyway.3AirMed and Rescue. Phoenix Agrees to Settle Katalin Metro Case
Crews strapped Metro into a Stokes basket inside a Bauman bag. As the basket rose, it began to rotate. Firefighters on the ground held a tagline meant to keep it stable, but the line broke.2NBC News. Hiker Who Spun Uncontrollably During Helicopter Rescue Thought She Was Going to Die With nothing to arrest the rotation, the basket accelerated as it climbed into the rotor wash. Metro spun about 174 times before crews lowered the basket back toward the ground to slow it and then pulled her into the aircraft. Bystander video of the whipping basket circulated widely and made the rescue a national story.4FireRescue1. Phoenix Woman Files Claim After Stretcher Wildly Spins During Helicopter Rescue
The Injuries
Metro’s notice of claim documented swelling and bruising around both eyes, blood in her external auditory canals, soft tissue swelling over part of her skull, and a spinal cord injury that required surgery.5Phoenix New Times. Hiker From Viral Helicopter Rescue Files $2M Claim Against the City She also reported ongoing pain and anxiety in the months that followed.6Fox 10 Phoenix. Phoenix City Council Approves Settlement for Woman Who Spun During Botched Helicopter Mountain Rescue Medical bills for treatment in June and July 2019 alone reached about $290,000.3AirMed and Rescue. Phoenix Agrees to Settle Katalin Metro Case George Metro said his wife “thought she was going to die when she was spinning.”2NBC News. Hiker Who Spun Uncontrollably During Helicopter Rescue Thought She Was Going to Die
From $2 Million Claim to $450,000 Settlement
In November 2019, the Metros filed a $2 million notice of claim against the City of Phoenix, alleging negligence, gross negligence, and reckless conduct by the fire department rescue crew.7KNAU. Injured Hiker Whose Rescue Went Viral to Sue City of Phoenix The claim argued that Metro had refused helicopter transport, that the on-scene evaluation showed no need for emergency air extraction, and that the fire department chose the airlift over safer ground options.
When the city did not resolve the claim within the statutory window, the Metros sued in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2020. George Metro added a loss of consortium claim.8AZ Central. Phoenix to Consider Settlement in Woman’s Helicopter Rescue The council’s December 1, 2021 vote authorized payment of up to $450,000, well below the $2 million originally sought but more than enough to cover the roughly $290,000 in early medical bills.112 News. Woman Gets $450,000 From Phoenix for Helicopter Rescue That Spun Wildly Out of Control
Why the Basket Spun
Phoenix Police Department chief pilot Paul Apolinar described the phenomenon as familiar to hoist crews: a basket can begin turning when it interacts with the downward draft from a helicopter’s rotors, behaving “like a windmill.”9ABC News. Dramatic Video Captures Dizzying Helicopter Rescue of Injured Hiker Two safeguards normally prevent it: a tagline held by ground crews, and forward flight by the aircraft. In Metro’s rescue the tagline broke and the hoist was vertical, removing both at once. Apolinar said the specific helicopter had completed 210 hoists in the previous six years, with spinning occurring only twice.10ABC 15. Video: Injured Hiker Rescued From Piestewa Peak by Helicopter
Aviation expert Jerry Kidrick suggested the department could consider doubling the tagline or making other reinforcements. No specific policy changes by the Phoenix Fire Department following the incident have been publicly reported.10ABC 15. Video: Injured Hiker Rescued From Piestewa Peak by Helicopter