Wed, May 16, 2012
Had Fallen In And Was Treading Water Near His Circling Boat
A boater who had fallen from his 14 foot fishing boat into the 45-degree water of Pokegama Lake near Grand Rapids, MN, last Monday was rescued by a trio of floatplane pilots who happened to notice his boat in a "death circle" on the lake below ... one rotation every six to eight seconds.
The story is related in a blog written by well-known flight instructor Max Trescott. Pilot Rusty Eichorn had flown his Cessna 180 floatplane (similar airplane pictured in file photo) home after practicing water landings with his girlfriend earlier in the day, and was getting ready to put the airplane away when a friend asked for a demonstration of some new Garmin GPS and radio gear that had been a gift from Eichorn's girlfriend Lynn. The additional flight made it pure serendipity that the three were flying over the lake and noticed the boat in distress.
After calling 911 from the plane, Eichorn, who has 3,600 of his 4,500 hours in floatplanes, landed the Cessna near enough to the boat to be able to haul 20-year-old Alexander James Higginbotham on board. He said the bolts holding the seat to the boat had let go, tossing him into the water.
Eichorn taxied the airplane to a dock about a mile away where Higgenbotham had apparently launched the boat, but he said it was the wrong dock, and so they step-taxied the plane to the Grand Rapids Golf Course, where they were met by ambulances.
Higginbotham's body temperature had reportedly dropped to 91 degrees. He was treated for hypothermia ... and charged with boating while intoxicated.
More News
Also: Vertical Flight Society, NBAA Maintenance Conference, GA Honored, AMT Scholarship For the first time, students from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus took t>[...]
Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]
(FAA) Inspector Observed That Both Fuel Tanks Were Intact And That Only A Minimal Amount Of Fuel Remained In Each Analysis: According to the pilot, approximately 8 miles from the d>[...]
“Pyka’s Pelican Cargo is unlike any other UAS solution on the market for contested logistics. We assessed a number of leading capabilities and concluded that the Pelica>[...]