The US Coast Guard medevaced a 47-year-old woman from the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship as it was sailing 115 miles east of Cape Henry (Virginia) Friday evening (March 9, 2012).
A helicopter crew from the Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City (NC) hoisted the woman and her husband from the deck of the ship about 7pm, and transported them to a Norfolk hospital as shown in the Coast Guard-provided video below.
The video was shot from outside the door of the helicopter as it hovered over the deck of the cruise ship. In the beginning seconds of the video, you can see the water below and the side of the ship as the pilot maneuvers over the deck of Norwegian Jewel. Notice the speed at which the ship is moving, and the helicopter needs to synchronize its speed exactly to hover over the deck. To the right, you can see the skylight into the ship's pool area. Once in position, the patient is then hoisted from the deck on the stretcher.
