Skydivers Jump to Aid After Witnessing Plane Crash Near Wisconsin Airport
Experienced skydivers from Skydive Milwaukee responded to a downed aircraft before emergency crews arrived, assisting the four survivors.
A group of skydivers made an extraordinary mid-air decision to jump from their own aircraft to reach the scene of a plane crash near East Troy Municipal Airport in Wisconsin on Sunday.
The skydivers, all associated with Skydive Milwaukee, were preparing for a jump when they observed a small plane flying erratically. According to the Town of East Troy Police Department, the aircraft then disappeared behind a line of trees.
"We were all sitting there waiting for him to show back up somewhere, and [he] never did," John Bechtel, one of the skydivers, told WSMV. "We all just kind of looked at each other like, ‘Did we just see a plane crash?’"
The single-engine plane had crashed in a cornfield near the airport. The skydivers immediately requested their pilot find a safe spot for them to jump so they could render aid. Air traffic control gave the pilot discretion to drop them over the area.
"Yes, I am going to drop a couple of them. Yeah, we are going to drop ‘em right now," the pilot reportedly replied.
The skydivers were the first to reach the crash site. One jumper, who is a former paramedic, provided aid to a person with a serious head injury until emergency services arrived. All four people aboard the plane survived the incident.
Bechtel described the timing as critical, stating, "Had we left five minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have seen it. Had we left 15 minutes later, we wouldn’t have been able to get there first and assist." He added that it was the first time he had ever jumped in response to an emergency and expressed his willingness to help others in need.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.