VIDEO: Body-camera footage shows good Samaritan, Anne Arundel officer rescuing pilot who crashed into icy creek
BALTIMORE - A pilot survived after crashing his Piper Cherokee single-engine plane into an icy creek in Anne Arundel County on Monday.
It was the rescue efforts of two good Samaritans and an Anne Arundel County police officer who used kayaks to get to the 71-year-old pilot.
Police said the crash happened moments after the plane took off near Lee Airport in Edgewater. Investigators said the engine of the plane was sputtering.
Witnesses said heard and saw the plane crash into Beards Creek.
While the plane was sinking, the pilot exited his plane and stood on the wing. Once the kayakers, including John Gelinne, were close enough, the pilot was able to hang on to one of them to stay afloat.
The pilot then boarded a Department of Natural Resource vessel and was taken to an ambulance.
Anne Arundel County Police Officer Elizabeth Myers boarded a kayak in an attempt to rescue the pilot with her body-camera footage on.
Rather than using an oar on ice, she used screwdrivers.
Police shared the body-camera rescue footage.
WJZ spoke with John Gelinne after the rescue.
Here's what he had to say.
