In June 2019, Katalin Metro, 75, had been hiking up Piestewa Peak together with her husband when their day hike went chaotic.
Katalin tripped and hurt her head, and caused her to be disorientated while trying to descend the 2,612ft mountain.
This prompted a call to the Phoenix Fire Department, who lifted Katalin in the sky in a rescue helicopter despite her telling them no.
The following events left the 75-year-old with anxiety, pain, and hundreds of thousands in medical bills. A year later, Katalin and her husband are suing the City of Phoenix for negligence.
According to 12 news, the pensioner was placed securely in a ‘stokes basket’ before airlifting. However, Katalin quickly began to spin faster, and faster, and faster, eventually spinning 174 times before her misery was over.
In the Phoenix New Times report, the city’s fire department held a press conference as soon as the incident hit the internet and went viral. Allegedly, the 75-year-old ‘suffered no ill effects from that spin other than being a little bit dizzy’. However, Katalin’s account says much differently.
During that time, George, Katalin’s husband, explained that ‘her eyes were all blackened. “Her face was all black and blue. Her hands and feet were black and blue… the blood went all the way to her head and broke the small vessels in her face.”
Between June and July last year, Katalin’s medical bills are at $290,000.
In November 2019, the couple’s lawyers filed a $2 million notice of claim against Phoenix city, with the official complaint accusing the rescue crew of gross negligence.
Shortly after the strange incident, Paul Apolinar, a chief pilot with the Phoenix Police Department said in Fox10 that there are times
when they bring the helicopter up from the ground, it will start to spin, so they have a line attached to the basket to help prevent it from spinning.
“As the basket comes up and nears the helicopter, the basket will start to interact with the rotor wash of the helicopter. That is when it tends to spin. It wants to windmill.” Apolinar said.
Because of Katalin’s “significant and permanent injuries,” the lawsuit is seeking “damages for past and future pain, discomfort, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anxiety, anguish, and permanent injury,” as well as compensation for George’s loss of consortium and coverage for medical bills.