This is a blog, not a news column, but I doubt this story will get much press. I felt it more than worthy of some exposure.
Rob Dubin, yesterday, reported on the RotaryForum, that Mike Bantum, flying his gyrocopter, saved the life of a fellow pilot. Here’s what he wrote:
Mike Bantum, whom many of you know as the Sun n Fun choppertown air traffic controller and who is also the Florida Xenon Dealer used his gyro to save a guy’s life today in Florida.
A friend was practicing touch and gos in his new Aventura sea plane out in the middle of Lake Okechobee, while Mike watched from nearby in his gyro.
On a bad landing the friend cartwheeled the plane and then moments later took off then crashed it in the middle of the lake.
Mike flew out from the shore [in his gyro] and circled the wreckage while using his radio to call a nearby airport to alert 911 and send rescue boats. Mike continued to circle but never saw anyone swim out of the plane.
Over half an hour went by and no resucuers had arrived and no sign of a swimmer. Finally Mike saw a pair of white arms a mile away from the wreckage. The guy was drowning when Mike spotted him and Mike then started circling him while still waiting on rescuers in boats who had not arrived.
Mike could see his friend below tiring and waves breaking over his head, but there was nothing he could do but circle overhead.
Finally Mike saw a fisherman on the lake and flew just feet above the guy giving him arm signals to follow Mike. Eventually the guy caught on and followed him to the wreckage and stopped there. Mike had to nearly attack the guy again to get him to follow him another mile away to where his exhausted friend was nearly drowning. It had been almost 45 minutes and the eldery man was exhausted.
The boat got there just in time and the fisherman pulled Mike’s friend from the water as the friend was on his last moments afloat.
In any aircraft except a helicopter or gyro this would have been impossible.
Mike deserves a hero’s recognition for his quick thinking and great flying!!
My congratulations to Mike for a job well done, and thanks to Rob Dubin for posting this story. The gyro community believes that they only ever see “bad press�? about their avocation, and so feel this should be broadcast far and wide, and I agree.
And for those who think a helicopter would have been better, take into consideration a helo’s operating costs are much, much higher (meaning they are less likely to be handy), they don’t have the time aloft that you can get with a gyro, and their downwash can create additional problems in a rescue scenario. So, while a helo would have been a good tool, the gyro is much less expensive to operate and can do most of the same tasks.