Kayakers rescued the pilot of a small plane after he crash landed Monday into Beards Creek in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Steve Couchman took off from Lee Airport and quickly had engine trouble, according to Fox 5. Shortly after witnesses heard the plane sputter, they heard it crash into the icy creek.
This is all you can see after a small aircraft crashed into a creek just seconds after takeoff in Riva, Maryland.
The plane is almost entirely submerged — all but a small part of the tail.
And for the 2nd time in the DMV recently, a pilot SURVIVES a very odd plane crash. pic.twitter.com/F0gSlfrJ2M
— Joseph Olmo (@ReporterJoseph) December 26, 2022
Two of the witnesses and a police officer used kayaks to help rescue the pilot from the icy water shortly after the crash, Fox 5 reported. The pilot held onto one of the kayaks as the plane sank into the creek. (RELATED: Two Plane Passengers Left Dangling From Power Lines 100 Feet In Air In Maryland)
Officers with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources arrived shortly after by boat, Fox 5 reported. One officer was able to cut through the ice and brought the pilot on board the boat. The pilot was then taken to an ambulance at Annapolis Landing Marina.
First responders took the pilot to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, WGAL reported.
“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,” Anne Arundel County Fire Department Lt. Jennifer Macallair said, according to WGAL.
Officials are still investigating the crash, according to Fox 5.