The helicopter pilot who flew Michael Schumacher to hospital following the Formula One legend's life-changing skiing accident has spoken publicly about the rescue mission for the first time in more than a decade.
Yannick Dainese was on duty in the French Alps on December 29, 2013, when he received an emergency call that would become one of the most high-profile rescue operations in sporting history.
Working for SAF Hélicoptères, a company specialising in mountain rescue and emergency medical transport, Dainese was dispatched to Méribel after reports that a skier had suffered a serious injury on the slopes.
At the time, neither he nor his crew knew the identity of the casualty.
Speaking to French outlet L'Équipe, Dainese recalled the moment he realised the injured person was Schumacher.
"A rescuer jumped out of the helicopter with the doctor and said to me: 'We're going to Schumacher!'" he said. "At first I thought he was joking.
"But when the commander ordered us to remove our microphones and GoPros, and to forbid journalists from accompanying us, I understood that it was true."
Schumacher, one of the most successful drivers in Formula One history, suffered a severe head injury after falling and striking a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps.
The helicopter pilot who flew Michael Schumacher to hospital following the Formula One legend's life-changing skiing accident has spoken publicly about the rescue mission for the first time in more than a decade | GETTYDainese admitted he immediately understood the significance of the situation, even though he did not closely follow Formula One.
"Subconsciously, the pressure was there because I knew he was worshipped like a god," he said. "But for me, he was just another seriously injured person."
The pilot described an intense atmosphere at the accident scene, with the area quickly secured as medical staff worked to stabilise Schumacher before transporting him to hospital.
According to Dainese, conversation was kept to a minimum as the rescue team focused entirely on the task in hand.
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"Everyone retreats into their own bubble," he explained.
Schumacher was placed on a vacuum mattress before being loaded onto the helicopter for the journey to hospital in Grenoble.
The flight lasted around 25 minutes, with Dainese saying little was said during the transfer as medical staff concentrated on monitoring the seven-time world champion's condition.
After arriving at the hospital, Schumacher was handed over to specialists for emergency treatment.
Dainese said he was unaware of the full extent of the injuries at the time and only realised the scale of the story several days later.
Returning to the same hospital on another rescue mission, he found the site transformed by the intense media interest surrounding Schumacher's condition.
"A few days after the accident, I went back to the hospital to transport another injured person," he said.
Michael Schumacher's family continue to care for the F1 icon following his skiing accident in 2013
| GETTY"What I saw shocked me: there were so many buses, red flags, and people everywhere that the hospital grounds had been transformed into a Formula 1 circuit. It was unbelievable."
Despite the global fascination surrounding the accident, Dainese chose not to speak publicly about his involvement for more than 12 years.
The pilot, who now works for France's Civil Security Service at the Grenoble air base, said he remained silent out of respect for Schumacher and his family.
Since the accident, Schumacher's wife, Corinna, has fiercely protected the privacy of the former Ferrari star, with only a small group of family members, close friends and medical professionals granted access to him.
Very little information about Schumacher's condition has been released publicly in the years since the crash.
It is known that he underwent emergency surgery and was later placed in a medically induced coma, which lasted for more than eight months.