Tue, Jan 24, 2012
Bystanders Had Right Skills At Right Place & Time
All four occupants of a Bay Island Airways Seaplane Adventure
gone wrong are doing fine. The modified AirCam (photo:
YouTube/buttroast98) reportedly lost at least one engine, ditched
and flipped inverted in the waters off Roatan, a small island in
the Caribbean off Honduras. The pilot and three members of a Texas
family along for the scenic flight were fortunate to have two
doctors and a pilot among boaters who first responded, and say they
actually plan to return to the area for another vacation.
Dallas attorney Andy Atkins tells NBC5-TV in Dallas that he was
on the January 11 flight with his wife, Jenny, and their
four-year-old son, Logan, and relates, "It was just an awesome fun
ride, that's all I can tell you. Great views and great pictures and
a slow-flying plane that felt very stable. We lost an engine, is
what I was told, and we crashed into the ocean and flipped over and
were stuck underwater."
On a parasail boat nearby was 63-year-old Larry Forseth, a
retired Air Canada pilot who now runs a boutique hotel in Honduras
with his wife Linda, and his cousin, Paul Gullackson. They joined
several bystanders who risked their own safety to dive in and help
the young family. Forseth tells CTV News there were four people in
the water. The father was holding his son's head above water, while
the pilot had the unconscious woman in his arms. Forseth recalls,
"Her eyes had rolled back. Her lips were really blue. She did not
look good at all."
On a nearby yacht were two doctors, who began treatment of the
mother and son and administered oxygen before all four victims were
taken to a hospital. After what NBC5 describes as a stay lasting
days, the family returned home last Thursday.
Bay Island Airways has advertised tours in an AirCam which
appears to have been modified for additional seating. There has not
yet been an official report from authorities in Honduras, and the
tour company's website has been shut down.
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