At Airway Services, safety is the absolute top priority. Airway Services provides its employees with extensive training – not just on how to avoid accidents, but on how to respond to accidents should they occur. 

Such was the case recently when one of Airway Services’ technicians performed immediate first aid to an injured technician. 

Hayden Walters was working alongside another technician when the technician suddenly got injured at the top of a wind tower. 

According to David Bonilla, the Field Supervisor for Airway Services, the technician had climbed into the nose cone of the wind tower in order to perform some tension work. While doing so, part of his wrist was exposed, and rubbed up against a blade bolt, which resulted in a puncture wound to his hand and wrist. The injury immediately started bleeding, profusely. Even more alarming was the fact that the injury was located in an area near multiple veins, meaning the risk of significant blood loss was high. 

Walters immediately leapt into action. 

“Hayden responded to the situation quickly, providing first aid to the injured tech,” Bonilla stated. “He was able to address the situation calmly and provide the proper treatment, stopping the bleeding and getting his teammate down tower.” 

One of the most important things that Airway Services teaches its technicians during training is the importance of staying calm. This is something that’s easy to do in hypothetical situations but, in reality, it’s a whole different story. Still, Walters was able to maintain his composure and was able to help keep the other technician calm as well. 

“Hayden really took charge,” Bonilla offered. “He got the cut covered up quickly; he properly cleaned the injury and patched it up quickly, getting the bleeding to stop so that he could properly get him out of the tower. He went through all the steps, just how he’s supposed to. He did a good job and I’m pretty sure it only took him about eight minutes to get it patched up and get him onto the lift, and then get him down the tower.” 

Bonilla said that Walters immediately called Dustin Walton, as is protocol. Bonilla himself was alerted as well and, by the time he got to the site, the technician was already completely patched up and was sitting in a truck, awaiting transportation to the clinic to get stitches. The entire process took about 15 minutes.

It was a scary situation that could have ended up a lot worse, if not for Walters’ quick thinking and the training that he received. 

This story illustrates just how important the training program is; it illustrates just how important safety is. 

“It’s number one,” Bonilla stated. “Absolutely. A lot of guys value their work ethic and how much they can get done in a day. Or they value their experience. But what ‘s important to us at Airway Services is the ability to know how to deal with a situation and being aware of your surroundings; knowing where your first-aid kit is and what the steps are.”

There is a procedure that has to be followed in instances such as this, and Walters followed it to a tee.

“A lot of guys in other companies will get hurt and they won’t say anything, or somebody won’t follow the correct procedure,” Bonilla offered. “They’ll just go sit in the truck or whatever. But for Hayden to step up and make sure that it was done properly, for him to make sure that the technician was treated the way he needed to be treated, was very, very good. He made sure that his coworker was taken care of. For me, safety is absolutely number one and I believe that it’s a highlight of your skillset when you remember those things and you value your teammates and their wellbeing.” 

That’s exactly what Hayden Walters did and, for that, he deserves recognition. When these technicians ascend wind towers, they’re putting their lives in each others’ hands. Each and every day. You have to be able to trust your coworker and know that if something were to happen, that you were in good hands. Walters proved that training pays off and that safety is, was, and always will be the most important aspect of Airway Services. 

“Always expect the unexpected,” Bonilla said. “A lot of times, nothing will happen. But at the end of the day, you can’t control how your day goes and you need to be prepared for anything. We’re pretty safe here, but it’s not impossible for somebody to get hurt. We don’t want that to happen, but we’ve got to be totally prepared for it to happen. And Hayden was prepared. He stepped up to the plate and he hit a home run.”