Matt Gane knows how lucky he is to be alive.
Five years ago Matt received life-threatening injuries in a mustering chopper crash on Kiana Station, 90km from Borroloola in the Northern Territory.
The butcher turned helicopter pilot had the odds stacked against him when his Robinson 22 helicopter crashed in outback NT.
Unconscious but breathing when a stockman pulled him from the crash, Matt suffered a litany of injuries - bleeding on the brain, broken pelvis, an injured right arm similar to a stroke victim and post-traumatic amnesia.
It took three aircraft more than 10 hours and 750km from the first emergency call to arrival at Royal Darwin Hospital, in what was the largest rescue mission for CareFlight Top End.
Today the Katherine resident has teamed up with the CareFlight crew which saved his life to travel that same distance and raise funds for the organisation.
When the call came for help, CareFlight launched a complex rescue mission involving two helicopters, a long-range King Air and two Darwin based medical teams.
Matt has registered a team in CareFlight's Territory Rescue Challenge, a month-long fitness challenge where participants run, walk or ride between 50-1000 kilometres to raise funds for the Top End Rescue Helicopter.
Included in Matt's team is Flight Nurse Paul Campbell and Aircrew Officer Steve Martz, the team who rescued Matt back in 2015.
"When I met Matt, he was in a bad way, he had a broken pelvis and a serious brain injury," Flight Nurse Paul Campbell said.
"After we transported him to Royal Darwin Hospital he spent six weeks there recovering, and then began his rehab journey to try and learn to walk again," Paul said.
Today, the 34-year old is not only back on his feet, but he's also recently married his wife and is back flying his helicopter.
"How time flies and how lucky I am," Matt said.
"I will be forever grateful to Paul and the team, us Territorians would be lost without the services they provide."
Matt and his team are together walking and running 750 kilometres throughout July. With just nine days of the month left, they've hit the 500-kilometre mark.
"I'm doing it to give back to the people that rescued me," Matt said.
"I've been walking laps up and back Elizabeth Downs airstrip, which is four kilometres altogether," he said.
The funds raised in the Territory Rescue Challenge will ensure CareFlight can continue to reach Territorians like Matt when they need it most.
"CareFlight played a big part in getting me to medical attention from Kiana Station in remote Northern Territory," Matt said.
"I can't thank them enough."
Donate to Matt's team here: https://ntchallenge.org.au/t/miraculousmattganecrew