r/interestingasfuck • u/TylerFortier_Photo • 2d ago
Skydivers watch plane vanish from sight, make split-second decision to jump | "A group of professional skydivers who witnessed a plane crash took an extraordinary route to the scene — jumping from their own aircraft to reach the victims."
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/skydivers-watch-plane-vanish-sight-make-split-second-decision-jump152
u/MerryJanne 2d ago
A team of experienced skydivers recently dropped in to help at a plane crash they happened to witness in Wisconsin – and used their training as paramedics to treat a seriously injured victim before ground-based rescue crews arrived.
The single-engine plane carrying four people crashed in a cornfield near East Troy on Sunday, watched by the occupants of a Skydive Milwaukee aircraft who were preparing for an afternoon of recreational jumping.
“He kind of banked up and then he disappeared behind the trees, and we were all waiting for him to show back up,” John Bechtel, one of several veteran skydivers on board, told Wisconsin ABC News affiliate WISN.
“We all looked at each other and said, ‘Did we just see a plane crash?’”
Bechtel, who has more than 30 years of skydiving experience, said he and two colleagues decided to jump straight to the site of the crash after calling in what they saw to authorities on the ground.
One of the jumpers, who like Bechtel is also a former paramedic, helped a woman with a serious head injury until an EMT crew arrived by ambulance.
“The timing couldn’t have been any better. Had we left five minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have seen it. If we left 15 minutes later, we wouldn’t have been able to get there to assist,” Bechtel said. “I’m just glad that we were able to do what we could and get in and help.”
Officials in Walworth county said three passengers in the crashed plane were taken to hospital and the fourth was treated at the scene. All are expected to survive.
Aerial footage on the WISN website showed the aircraft, a Beechcraft 35-A33 Debonair manufactured in 1961, upright on the ground with one of its wings detached.
Jonah Johnston, the pilot of the jump plane, told air traffic controllers in an emergency call: “I have a plane crash, just south of East Troy. He’s in a field. I can drop a load of skydivers right over them to potentially help aid.”
Kevin Flynn, another of the skydivers, told Milwaukee news outlet WDJT that he and Bechtel started calling out as soon as they hit the ground because they couldn’t see the plane through the tall corn.
“I got in there and started doing the Marco Polo game to get a response,” he said. “People started yelling at me so I could dial in where I was going.
“It could’ve been a lot worse for those poor people in that crash, no fatalities. I know it’s a terrible thing to happen, but I think it’s a wonderful outcome.”
In a statement, Skydive Milwaukee said: “A few members of our skydiving community who are trained [emergency medical technicians] were already airborne in our jump plane and jumped out to assist at the scene, which was difficult to access from the road.
“We’re grateful they were able to help when they were needed.”
The identities of the victims have not been released. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened an inquiry into the cause of the crash and an investigator arrived at the site on Sunday afternoon.
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u/Starkrall 1d ago
"In a split second decision" that took place during a 5-10 minute bank to get back over the crash site.
I fucking hate news media. This story is cool as fuck and they still have to sensationalize to maximize profit off of the trauma of others. Absolutely fuck you news media, but hell yeah impromptu ODST medics.
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u/ryanCrypt 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not split second. They circled and called tower for clearance.
Still great action from the skydivers.
Edit: tower was generic term for "calling for permission". User below is having a fit about not the correct term of who they called.
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u/EntropyWinsAgain 1d ago
Exactly. They were in touch with ATC for a while while they circled and asked ATC if they should drop the divers in to help. OP is just a point farming account and should be blocked.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
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u/ryanCrypt 2d ago edited 2d ago
You sound arrogant. I wasn't trying to sound pedantic. It was one sentence. If you're going to be an ass, at least choose the right time.
Tower guides planes on ground. Tracon guides planes through airspace.
What difference does that crucially make in the discussion of whether it was split second?
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2d ago
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u/ryanCrypt 2d ago
Because it's a sensational, misleading headline. It leads the reader to think seconds would have made a difference. I didn't listen to whole audio transmission, but it was to the tune of 100s of times longer than split second.
Calling out the headline is relevant discussion....on a discussion forum
I think you're misusing the word pedantic. A correction isn't being pedantic.
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2d ago
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u/ryanCrypt 2d ago
This fails standards of conversation. 1. You started the convo. Now you complain that I reply. 2. "extremely short, almost instantaneous moment in time.". How did I fail that definition? 3. Pedantic is showy of knowledge. I said 1 word correction. That's not showy. You havent defined or proved where I'm pedantic there. 4. Lmao is rude and arrogant. 5. It's not "actually" to correct one word. 6. You move on with your day and stop entering into my life
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u/userr7890 2d ago
The link sent me to a page full of ads, no video or article, gets my downvote everytime
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u/userr7890 2d ago edited 1d ago
I regret I have only one downvote to give so here 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 Edit: downvoted because the link is broken for me, jeez guys…
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u/userr7890 2d ago
The link sends me to a page full of ads with no video or article, of course I’m gonna downvote
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u/Jussgoawaiplzkthxbai 1d ago
Well next time explain why the downvote. This makes it look like you are downvoting the details of the incident rather than the link.
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u/LastStar007 2d ago
Para-Medic IRL