Jim Hood

Jim Hood was interviewed on June 2, 2000 by Dave Krupa at the National Park Service Ranger Station in Talkeetna, Alaska. In this interview, Jim talks about flying helicopters and search and rescue operations on Denali, and provides vivid details of day-to-day operations, conducting high altitude rescues and dealing with challening flying conditions. With considerable understatement and humility, Jim provides a first hand account of flying helicopters in one of the most dangerous locations in the world. Flying at altitudes that stretch and even exceed the design specifications of his craft, Jim describes rescue work in conditions where there is no margin for error and "mechanical failure is not an option."