Inside Two Bear Air Rescue: The Heroes of Mountain Recovery

If you’re an adrenaline junkie, wild wanderer, or someone who simply relishes the tranquility of some of the Mountain West’s most picturesque landscapes, encountering the unexpected is often part of the journey. 

But when those unexpected moments turn life threatening, Two Bear Air Rescue serves as a vital lifeline to do what other rescue operations simply cannot. 

Serving Montana, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Two Bear Air has utilized a Bell 429 helicopter and will soon use an Airbus H145 D3 equipped with a hoist to lift injured hikers, snowmobilers, swimmers, equestrians, dirt bikers, and climbers out of some of the most dangerous terrain in the country. 

“There wasn’t an aviation resource in the [Flathead] Valley besides ALERT [before Two Bear Air’s founding over a decade ago],” said Two Bear Air chief pilot James Heckman, referring to the Advanced Life-Support and Emergency Rescue Team program. “There was no search and rescue helicopter or hoist aircraft.” 

But that all changed when Mike Goguen, an entrepreneur with a part-time residence in Whitefish, Montana, decided to step in.

Read the full story in Plane & Pilot here.