The heroic helicopter pilot who rushed a stricken Michael Schumacher to hospital after his ski crash has finally spoken out after 12 years.
Yannick Dainese flew the Formula One icon for treatment in the French Alps after his traumatic head injury with the emergency responder saying what he saw on the slopes has stayed with him ever since, The Sun reports.
On December 29, 2013, Yannick was on duty as a pilot for SAF Helicopteres, a company specialising in emergency medical services and mountain rescue operations.
His team received a serious call from down on the ski slopes of Meribel Alpina resort telling them to immediately fly down and rush a person to hospital.
Yannick says the team had no idea who was injured at the time but has now revealed to L’Equipe the moment he was first told as they stepped onto the snow.
He said: “A rescuer jumped out of the helicopter with the doctor and said to me ‘we’re going to Schumacher!’
“At first I thought he was joking.
“But when the commander ordered us to remove our microphones and GoPros, and to forbid journalists from accompanying us, I understood that it was true.”
Yannick was never a big F1 fan but says he was well aware of Schumacher’s status as one of sport’s greatest ever figures.
“Subconsciously, the pressure was there because I knew he was worshipped like a god,” the pilot said.
“But for me, he was just another seriously injured person.”
The atmosphere around the rescue mission remains one of the most intense Yannick has ever faced.
He said that the slope was immediately locked off from any skiers leaving only Schumacher, his team and the medics around.
There was hardly any conversation during the few minutes it took to get the driver onto the helicopter as “everyone retreats into their own bubble”, Yannick remembers.
Yannick and his partner strapped the seven-time world champion onto a vacuum mattress before transporting him onto the helicopter.
A near silent 25-minute journey across to a Grenoble hospital then took place before staff took Schumacher away for emergency treatment.
Yannick had no idea the extent of Schumacher’s injuries after dropping him off.
He returned to the same hospital a few days later with another injured skier and quickly found the news of Schumacher’s accident had gone public.
Yannick said: “A few days after the accident, I went back to the hospital to transport another injured person.
“What I saw shocked me: there were so many buses, red flags, and people everywhere that the hospital grounds had been transformed into a Formula 1 circuit. It was unbelievable.”
He now works as a pilot for France’s Civil Security Service at the Grenoble air base.
It took him 12 years to speak out due to him wanting to respect the privacy of the Schumacher family.
Michael’s wife Corinna has managed to build up an inner circle made up of only a few friends, the family and select doctors to keep her husband’s condition private.
To this day, hardly any details about Schumacher’s condition have been released other than the family confirming he is receiving treatment.
Footage from his helmet camera during the ski crash revealed he was not travelling at excessive speed when he struck a rock hidden beneath the snow.
He catapulted forward 11.5ft and crashed into a boulder head first that split his helmet into two.
Schumacher was placed into an induced coma as he underwent two major surgeries.
The coma ended up lasting 250 days – more than eight months.
Yannick’s accounts are set to feature in a wide-scale report involving dozens of doctors and professionals with knowledge of the Schumacher accident.
— This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission
