Of Dire Necessity and Inspired Improvisation

Steve Couchman, 71, of Prince Frederick, Maryland narrowly escaped calamity on the morning of December 26th 2022 when the Piper Cherokee he was piloting went down in a frozen inlet of the South River moments after departing Lee Airport (ANP).

Mr. Couchman survived the aircraft’s impact with the river’s frozen surface, but faced hypothermia in the uncertain moments following the accident.

Fortunately, two good Samaritans and a fast-thinking police officer—perhaps manifesting residual Christmas spirit—sprang into action, manning kayaks and improvising liberally to get the pilot to firm ground and warmth.

Witnesses in the vicinity of ANP reported hearing the engine of Couchman’s Cherokee “sputter” before the airplane went down in Beards Creek—a 250-meter-wide inlet of Maryland’s South River.

Retired U.S. Naval Officer John Gelinne Sr. was with his family in their home on Beards Creek at the time the plane went down. "When we all looked, we knew there was a problem," Mr. Gelinne remarked. "He was heading at us kinda badly and then he banked hard left."

Describing the Cherokee’s descent, Mr. Gelinne stated: “We saw the bottom of the aircraft, very close, and then it skipped and then went in the water right there.”

Mr. Gelinne and his son, U.S. Marine John Gelinne Jr., grabbed kayaks and—lacking oars—took up shovels with which to propel the wee vessels across the ice.

Upon reaching the crash site, the senior and junior Gelinnes found Mr. Couchman standing atop one of the downed Cherokee’s wings as the plane slowly sank.

"When I got to the aircraft, it was in the water, he was kind of hanging on to the back tail and I knew hypothermia was going to be a problem," Gelinne Sr. recounted. “He was very calm,” the Navy veteran added. “I think hypothermia might have been starting to come in.”

The Gelinnes were soon joined by Anne Arundel County police officer Elizabeth Myers, whose body-cam recorded her commandeering a kayak, an oar, and a length or rope before setting off for the frozen creek. As the recording continues, Officer Myers can be seen using screwdrivers as improvised icepicks to make her way over the ice to the sinking aircraft.

Together, the Gelinnes and officer Myers managed to wrest Mr. Couchman partially atop a kayak and hold him there until Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police (NRP) officers arrived by boat, cut through the ice, and pulled Couchman to safety.

The partially-frozen pilot was conveyed to the Annapolis Landing Marina, then transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Lt. Jennifer Macallair of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department noted that Couchman was up against deadly conditions, with hypothermia only minutes away.

Of the interceding kayak trio, Lt. Macallair added: "Their efforts were heroic today. ... I give them credit and thanks."

The Maryland Natural Resources Police stated, "We are grateful that through outstanding teamwork, a life was saved today."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov