Carnival Magic contacted the US Coast Guard the evening of March 31, 2012, requesting a medical evacuation for a 44-year-old woman who was a crew member and experiencing complications with a pregnancy. The Coast Guard launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Houston. They met the ship when it was approximately 145 miles southeast of the Galveston coast. They hoisted the woman from the deck of the ship, as seen in this edited video of the operation, and took her to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
The video begins with the helicopter aligning itself with the ship below as the rescue swimmer is being lowered to the deck. There's an edit, because in the next scene the patient is ready to be hoisted from the deck. In real time, it took a couple minutes for her to be brought out and connected to the hoist.
You can hear the progress reports where her position is being called out as she is being lifted to the helicopter. While she is being lifted, the wind has shifted, and the pilot can be heard asking for the ship to be told to turn 45-degrees before they bring the rescue swimmer up. Meanwhile, he turns the helicopter to compensate, but he wants the ship to turn so it will be aligned correctly for the next hoist. As you can tell, there is another edit, because the ship is suddenly realigned below when the rescue swimmer is being hoisted.
The video ends as the rescue swimmer comes into the door of the helicopter, but the mission continued for another two hours until the woman was delivered to the hospital in Galveston. They make it look so easy.
