Crewman Neil Chappell works the winch in the chopper, as well as assisting the paramedic. Chappell, coming from an Air Force background, said the medical emergencies the team were called to had taken him by surprise. “There's been so many times where I’ve read the pager and thought, how can that happen? “[But] every human is so vital on the job and that’s really rewarding.” Rural emergencies are the crew’s bread and butter. Whether it’s a tractor pinning a farmer in the sticks, a tramper lost in the Tararua Ranges, a serious crash on the region’s state highways, or a stroke victim on the back blocks of Taranaki, they rush to them all.