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Helicopter crew gets airboat ride out of swamp
Crew safe after chopper loses power in wild
The 2 men, on a contract to count alligators for the state, sat on top of the helicopter overnight.
By Martin E. Comas | Sentinel Staff Writer
July 8, 2005
EUREKA, FL -- Throughout the night, the two men ate crackers, sipped water from the Ocklawaha River and listened to alligators growl after their helicopter went down in a heavily wooded area in north Marion County.
"My biggest concern was not panicking and trying to stay calm," John H. White, a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Thursday. "The snakes and alligators were not an issue for us."
White of Maitland and pilot Peter Rogers of Ocala spent Thursday resting comfortably at home, a day after their trip counting alligator nests in Putnam and Marion counties went awry.
Search crews -- including dozens of deputy sheriffs from Marion, Putnam and Alachua counties, along with Air Force and Navy pilots -- combed the remote area for more than seven hours Wednesday night and early Thursday after the two men failed to return.
"You have to give them both credit for keeping level heads and staying calm," said Kat Kelley, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
The men's helicopter lost power just after 11 a.m. Wednesday while flying below 100 feet in a swampy area west of the Ocklawaha River and north of State Road 316.
Rogers set the chopper down gently in about 4 feet of water in an open marsh surrounded by willows.
"My first concern was how deep the water was below us," White said. "We crawled out; then we took the cushions out."
Rogers, 53, could not be reached for comment.
The men climbed on top of the helicopter while water filled the inside of the aircraft. The radio was damaged, and their cell phones didn't work.
To prevent heat stroke, the men sat in the water under the shade of nearby willow trees.
By late afternoon, they heard dogs barking from a nearby home, and the men decided to venture out for a short distance to see if they could reach the house. But the vegetation was so thick it was almost impossible to climb through it, White said.
"The idea was to stay by the helicopter," he said. "A lot of people would've panicked and tried to find the house, but you just can't do that. They will eventually find the helicopter."
White and Rogers were so keyed up that when night fell, they each dozed off for only about 20 minutes on top of the helicopter.
White, who had set off two flares earlier, lighted the last one about 3 a.m. when he heard a Marion County Sheriff's helicopter nearby.
By 4:30 a.m., a Fish and Wildlife airboat, guided by the helicopter, was able to reach the men.
"We were jumping up and down with joy," White said. "We then celebrated by eating a brownie."
By 7 a.m., White and Rogers boarded an airboat, which took them back to a boat ramp in Eureka, where paramedics said the men were in good shape.
Helicopter crew gets airboat ride out of swamp
Crew safe after chopper loses power in wild
The 2 men, on a contract to count alligators for the state, sat on top of the helicopter overnight.
By Martin E. Comas | Sentinel Staff Writer
July 8, 2005
EUREKA, FL -- Throughout the night, the two men ate crackers, sipped water from the Ocklawaha River and listened to alligators growl after their helicopter went down in a heavily wooded area in north Marion County.
"My biggest concern was not panicking and trying to stay calm," John H. White, a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Thursday. "The snakes and alligators were not an issue for us."
White of Maitland and pilot Peter Rogers of Ocala spent Thursday resting comfortably at home, a day after their trip counting alligator nests in Putnam and Marion counties went awry.
Search crews -- including dozens of deputy sheriffs from Marion, Putnam and Alachua counties, along with Air Force and Navy pilots -- combed the remote area for more than seven hours Wednesday night and early Thursday after the two men failed to return.
"You have to give them both credit for keeping level heads and staying calm," said Kat Kelley, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
The men's helicopter lost power just after 11 a.m. Wednesday while flying below 100 feet in a swampy area west of the Ocklawaha River and north of State Road 316.
Rogers set the chopper down gently in about 4 feet of water in an open marsh surrounded by willows.
"My first concern was how deep the water was below us," White said. "We crawled out; then we took the cushions out."
Rogers, 53, could not be reached for comment.
The men climbed on top of the helicopter while water filled the inside of the aircraft. The radio was damaged, and their cell phones didn't work.
To prevent heat stroke, the men sat in the water under the shade of nearby willow trees.
By late afternoon, they heard dogs barking from a nearby home, and the men decided to venture out for a short distance to see if they could reach the house. But the vegetation was so thick it was almost impossible to climb through it, White said.
"The idea was to stay by the helicopter," he said. "A lot of people would've panicked and tried to find the house, but you just can't do that. They will eventually find the helicopter."
White and Rogers were so keyed up that when night fell, they each dozed off for only about 20 minutes on top of the helicopter.
White, who had set off two flares earlier, lighted the last one about 3 a.m. when he heard a Marion County Sheriff's helicopter nearby.
By 4:30 a.m., a Fish and Wildlife airboat, guided by the helicopter, was able to reach the men.
"We were jumping up and down with joy," White said. "We then celebrated by eating a brownie."
By 7 a.m., White and Rogers boarded an airboat, which took them back to a boat ramp in Eureka, where paramedics said the men were in good shape.