Miracle Blackhawk Crash Survivor Recalls MAYDAY Moment with Trevor Baucom | Mike Drop 216

About this video

Trevor Baucom, a former military helicopter pilot, recounts the night his Black Hawk crashed in Afghanistan during a mission to insert commandos. He describes flying in extreme darkness without adequate illumination, losing situational awareness while descending, and crashing at approximately 1700 feet per minute and 100 knots. Baucom survived catastrophic injuries including paralysis, while four others aboard died, and he details his medical evacuation and the long road to partial recovery.

Key takeaways

• Baucom recalls that the crash occurred during a night mission in near-total darkness when he and his co-pilot failed to properly monitor their instruments while descending, resulting in the aircraft hitting the ground and rolling over
• Four people died in the crash: Baucom’s crew chief and three commandos; survivors sustained severe injuries including broken spines, shattered legs, and Baucom’s own paralysis
• Baucom describes being pulled from the burning wreckage unconscious, waking during surgery, and eventually being told at Landstuhl that he was paralyzed, then undergoing evacuation and treatment at Walter Reed

Episode details: published December 1, 2024 · 3.9K views · 12:12 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

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