Real Survival Stories – “Rescuers Stranded: Chopper Down in a Snowstorm”

Podcast: Real Survival Stories
Host: John Hopkins
Air Date: December 11, 2025
Guest: Scott McCoy, Canadian Air Force Flight Engineer
Theme: True account of survival after a helicopter crash during a winter rescue mission in northern Canada.

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, host John Hopkins brings listeners deep into the frigid wilds of Newfoundland and Labrador, recounting the harrowing survival story of Scott McCoy and his crewmates. In 1996, while on a mission to rescue a stricken fisherman, their military helicopter crashes in a fierce snowstorm, leaving the would-be rescuers struggling for their own survival against hypothermia, exhaustion, and the unforgiving Arctic landscape.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rescue Mission Begins (06:33 – 16:16)

• Setting the Scene: Early winter, Goose Bay, Labrador – Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue team is dispatched to help an Inuit fisherman suffering a medical emergency on a trawler near Resolution Island.
• Scott’s Background: Scott McCoy shares his journey from aspiring soccer player to Air Force engineer.
  • “So me joining the armed forces was not on my top 10 list.” (09:58, Scott McCoy)
• Crew Members: Sergeant Scott McCoy (Flight Engineer, 37), Pilot Karim (27), Co-Pilot Wade (25), SAR Tech Andre (35).
• Mission Challenges: Mechanical delays, rapidly changing weather, long distances, and remote terrain.

2. Trapped by the Storm (16:16 – 19:59)

• Facing Adverse Weather: Crew dons night vision and climbs over mountains as snow begins to fall.
  • “We noticed that the snow was starting to pick up, so the aircraft commander made the decision at that point to land.” (16:16, Scott McCoy)
• Decision to Take Off: After briefly waiting out the storm, the crew quickly returns to the air, but fails to notify their backup aircraft that they’re airborne again.

3. Disaster Strikes – The Crash (19:07 – 25:10)

• Whiteout Conditions: The helicopter is engulfed in a blizzard, navigation becomes impossible, fuel runs low, and icing is a real risk.
• The Final Moments:
  • “They didn’t have enough power to maintain the aircraft in level descending flight… we just basically ran out of air below us and the aircraft started dropping out of the sky.” (04:03 and 22:15, Scott McCoy)
• Ditching in the Sea: The helicopter crashes into the freezing Labrador Sea.
• Egress and Immediate Survival: Scott describes the shock and terror of escaping from the rapidly flooding, overturned helicopter.
  • “At that point, I’m underwater…and I can’t get a hold of [my harness] because now I’m suspended in the water… At that point I thought I was going to die.” (23:39, Scott McCoy)
  • “My head actually popped into an air pocket…my head somehow found that air pocket.” (27:14, Scott McCoy)

4. Stranded in the Arctic – The Ordeal (25:10 – 44:57)

• Assessing the Situation: Crew regroups atop the sinking chopper; pilot and co-pilot are severely hypothermic. Their survival gear and locator beacon are lost underwater.
  • “All our major survival gear was still in the chopper…our locator beacon was in the chopper.” (05:18, Scott McCoy)
• Reaching Land: Tide slowly pushes them closer to shore—they swim the last meters and scramble up icy rocks.
• The March to Survival:
  • “It was a struggle because we were having to cross parts of the Torngat mountains…a lot of climbing and a lot of falling down.” (34:15, Scott McCoy)
  • Co-pilot loses his boot and sock; his leg becomes frozen and waxy.
  • “Looking at his leg…it was like regular white wax…I said we gotta keep moving.” (35:55, Scott McCoy)
• Braving the Night: Hallucinations, exhaustion, and freezing conditions force them to dig a trench for shelter.
  • “We laid the pilots as far in as we could…tried to keep them as free from the elements as we could.” (38:25, Scott McCoy)

5. Shelter and Rescue (44:03 – 47:41)

• Finding the Shack: At dawn, they discover the cabin they’d joked about from the air—mere meters from where they’d spent the night.
  • “He yelled up. He says, I found it. It’s right here.” (40:40, Scott McCoy)
  • The shack is dilapidated with no chimney, but they manage to light a fire using rotten wood.
• Signaling for Rescue: Makeshift flares, dye markers, and visibility efforts. A search plane initially misses them, but later a night-time overflight spots their flares.
  • “They flashed the camera light at us. So that basically told me that, okay, they’ve seen us, now our rescue is going to start.” (46:24, Scott McCoy)
• Evacuation: After 36 perilous hours, a rescue chopper arrives. The two pilots are in serious condition—one loses four toes to frostbite and the aircraft commander suffers lung damage.

6. Aftermath and Reflections (47:41 – End)

• The Irony: The original medical rescue succeeds; the fisherman is saved by backup rescuers.
• Recovery: Long hospital stays, nerve injuries, frostbite, and eventual retirement for Scott due to lasting neck damage.
• On Survival & Brotherhood:
  • “The fact that we were search and rescue crew gown was like family looking for family.” (49:26, Scott McCoy)
• Living with the Experience:
  • “Reflecting back on it, I’m just happy to be here…Just having family and friends around you helps you be able to get through these things… You really have, there’s nothing else out there.” (50:16, Scott McCoy)
  • “I think I’m gonna not sweat the small stuff anymore because it doesn’t get much bigger than this and we made it through it.” (50:16, Scott McCoy)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Realizing They Wouldn’t Be Rescued Quickly:

  • “Because we settled into the water so lightly, it didn’t activate [the locator beacon]... After almost drowning, none of us were going back in the chopper.” (31:13, Scott McCoy)

• On Hallucinations and Exhaustion:

  • “Throughout the night…start seeing things that aren’t really there; we start hallucinating.” (37:43, Scott McCoy)

• On Brotherhood and the Rescue Culture:

  • “It was like family looking for family… I just knew inside that it would all work out in the end, and it did.” (49:26, Scott McCoy)

• Reflecting on the Ordeal’s Impact:

  • “Life is great. Life is good…there’s nothing else out there. So if you’ve got a good support group like that, then that just makes it all worthwhile.” (50:16, Scott McCoy)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mission Briefing and Takeoff: 06:33 – 14:30
• First Weather Delay: 15:17 – 17:09
• Snowstorm & Crash Sequence: 19:07 – 25:10
• Escape and Immediate Survival: 25:15 – 33:11
• Nighttime Trek & Impairments: 33:11 – 38:50
• Finding Shelter & Waiting for Rescue: 44:03 – 46:24
• Rescue and Medical Recovery: 46:49 – 48:41
• Scott’s Reflections on Survival and Life After: 49:12 – 51:29

Episode Tone and Style

The episode is immersive, dramatic, and compassionate, blending tense narration with Scott McCoy’s matter-of-fact, military calm. The mood fluctuates from icy dread during the crash and trek, to poignant camaraderie among the crew, ending with thoughtful optimism as Scott reflects on survival and gratitude for life and family.

Summary Takeaway

This episode of Real Survival Stories is a powerful testament to the unpredictability of wilderness rescue, the limits of human endurance, and the bond of brotherhood forged in extreme adversity. Scott McCoy’s account offers listeners not just a tale of escape from nature’s clutches, but a humbling reminder of what truly matters when all else is stripped away: hope, teamwork, perseverance — and the lifeline of family and friends.

Next Time: The ordeal of Jamie Nicholl in Patagonia — another vivid survival tale.