Last week, a French mountain police helicopter pilot showed some incredible skills (and guts) while conducting rescue operations in the Alps. According to a Facebook post written by Nicolas Derely, who recorded the footage with his phone, this death-defying bit of helicopter-acrobatics was prompted by a skier named Bruno Tauziet dislocating his knee at a high elevation, with some 1200 feet of icy terrain between them and any level ground.

A basic translation of Derely’s post explains that once he got to Tauziet, he covered him with jacket and checked his phone, where to his surprise he found that he had “4 bars and 4G” service — a lucky break Derely himself calls a miracle.

With no means to find a more suitable landing location, the pilot of the police helicopter chose to stick the nose of his aircraft in the snow, bringing the rotor blades to within inches of colliding with the mountain itself, as his crew brought the injured man on board.

Of course, some may argue that this stunt placed the helicopter crew and other skiers at unnecessary risk, but with Bruno Tauziet now safely recovering from his injuries, it’s hard to argue with results.

Watch the video below:

Image courtesy of YouTube/Nicolas Derely on Facebook