Two “heroic” men saved the life of a pilot after his plane crashed into a frozen creek in Maryland.
Here’s what we know.
Here’s what happened: Maryland State Police reported that the plane — holding only one pilot, Steve Couchman — plummeted into Beards Creek in Edgewater around 10:30 a.m on Monday.
Shortly after takeoff, the plane began to sputter before it eventually crashed, according to NBC News.
The police said in a statement, “Two nearby civilians and an on-duty police officer from the Anne Arundel County Police Department who heard the call, used three kayaks to skim across the iced creek to provide assistance to the pilot. While the plane was sinking, the pilot exited his plane and stood on the wing. Once the kayakers were close enough, the pilot was able to hang on to one of them to stay afloat.”
Insider reported that Jennifer Macallair, an Anne Arundel County Fire Department lieutenant, said that the rapid response of the two civilians was “heroic” and that it saved Couchman from hypothermia.
Macallair told NBC affiliate WBAL that the pilot, after being rescued and given medical care, was found to have no life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
What the witnesses said: The Associated Press reported that one of the kayakers who helped to save the pilot, retired naval officer John Gelinne Sr., said he believed the plane was going to crash into his home.
“We saw the bottom of the aircraft, very close, and then it skipped and then went in the water right there,” Gelinne said.
Gelinne and his son, John Gelinne Jr., grabbed kayaks and shovels to make it across the ice to save the pilot from the sinking plane.
“He was very calm,” Gelinne said. “I think hypothermia might have been starting to come in.”
Macallair said that hypothermia can set in “within minutes” and explained further, “The fact that these two individuals were able to recognize what happened and got into their kayaks and went out there, absolutely probably saved his life.”