Luck Was On Their Side
Two men are happy to be
alive... and dry... after the two swam for 90 minutes Thursday
night after their plane went down in a lake during a thunderstorm
near Leesburg, FL.
Officials said pilot Shelton Kinser and his passenger, Matthew
Gerig, were approaching Leesburg Regional Airport (KLEE) aboard a
Cessna 152 (file photo of type, center right) when something went
wrong, and it became clear to Kinser they weren't going to make the
runway.
Faced with limited options, Kinser landed the plane in the
waters of Lake Harris. Both men scrambled to get out of the
aircraft -- and then began the long swim towards shore, screaming
for help all the way.
"When I kept sinking, I said, 'I'm not going to make it,'" Gerig
recounted to WKMG-6. "I was not making any progress and I had not
heard from him in about an hour, so I thought he sank. As soon as
we got out of the plane, he said, "I'm going to drown, I'm going to
drown."
As the men approached the shore, several neighbors heard the
men's pleas for help. One of them, Bob Geyman, along with two
others took his pontoon boat out on the lake to try to find the two
other men.
They found Kinser first, who told his rescuers to find Gerig
before they hauled him aboard.
"He yelled out, 'There's another person out there and he's
struggling,'" Bob Geyman told the Orlando Sentinel. Gerig was found
about 200 yards away.
"He looked like he was
really in danger. He was starting to sink," Geyman said. Both men
had ripped off their clothes to avoid sinking in the lake.
The rescuers pulled Gerig aboard and then went back to pick up
Kinser.
"They were shivering. The water was about 80 degrees," Geyman
said. "They said, 'My God, we didn't think we were going to make
it.'"
"I'm glad I was able to help them," Geyman added. "When you hear
someone yelling "help", I don't think about whether it could be a
prank. I wanted to go out and try to help."
By the time crews reached the site of the actual accident, the
plane was completely submerged, according to media reports.
** Report created 5/12/2006 Record
6
******************************************
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 93152
Make/Model: C152 Description: 152,
A152, Aerobat
Date: 05/12/2006 Time: 0030
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury:
Minor Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: LEESBURG State: FL Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT MADE A FORCED LANDING INTO LAKE HARRIS SHORT OF THE
RUNWAY, LEESBURG,
FL
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
1 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
1 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Departed:
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination:
Flt
Plan:
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: ORLANDO, FL
(SO15)
Entry date: 05/12/2006