Pilot airlifted to safety after making emergency landing in Florida
· Toronto Sun
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A pilot who was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote, landlocked area of a nature preserve in southwest Florida had to be airlifted to safety on Sunday.
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The dramatic rescue was captured on video and shared by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, showing a helicopter from its aviation unit hovering over an area of shallow water, then lowering a rescue basket toward a downed plane.
The man inside the aircraft wades toward the lowered basket and gets inside. He’s then lifted with personnel aboard the plane holding onto the rescue basket as he’s flown to an area where other emergency responders are gathered.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that it responded at around 1 p.m. Sunday to a report of an emergency landing by a high-wing amphibious floatplane in the Estero Bay Preserve.
“The aircraft came to rest in a remote, landlocked area of the preserve, inaccessible by boat or vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said.
“A multi-agency response was quickly co-ordinated and LCSO Aviation successfully conducted an aerial rescue, safely bringing the aircraft’s sole occupant, to safety.”
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Rescue follows other recent aviation incidents
The pilot did not sustain any injuries from the incident.
According to local reports, the emergency landing came after two recent aviation incidents in the area.
The previous day — on Saturday — a Cessna 172 made an emergency landing on a road in Fort Myers after the pilot reported an engine issue.
The FAA said two people were on board and that no injuries were reported.
Two days earlier, another small plane crashed into a farm in DeSoto County.
DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office’s said in a Facebook post that two people were extracted from the aircraft safely with the help of firefighters.