US Coast Guardsmen assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Georgia, guide an MH-65D Dolphin helicopter into the hangar on Feb. 21, 2022. Air Station Savannah's area of responsibility covers approximately 450 miles of shoreline from the northern border of South Carolina to Melbourne, Florida. An aircrew from Air Station Savannah flew over the Coastal Georgia wetlands on Oct. 22, 2022, in search of a pilot who landed his plane in the marsh. US Coast Guard photo by Public Affairs Specialist 2nd Class Barry Bena.
The US Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin helicopter crew was flying over a Georgia swamp when the radio crackled a mayday message.
Air Station Savannah pilot Lt. David Sullivan told Coffee or Die Magazine a man warned he was going to crash into a marsh. Sullivan tried to reach the pilot again, but an air traffic controller told him the plane “was already in” the wetland.
It was shortly before sunset on Saturday, Oct. 22, and the 1969 Beech V35A plane’s “engine issues” sent it plummeting into a bog near Shellman Bluff, a fishing village near the Broro and Julienton rivers, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report.
At first, no one knew exactly where the plane had crashed, but then the Midway Police Department got a call about an aircraft in a resident's backyard. Within a few minutes, Sullivan’s Dolphin was hovering 40 stories above the house, his crew staring into the swamp running between the Medway River and the Eagle Neck Airport.
The US Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65D Dolphin helicopter crew flies over the marsh where a red and blue tip can be seen, marking the location where a pilot flew his plane into the water. US Coast Guard photo.
And that’s when Aviation Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Daniel Muñoz spotted a man atop a submerged plane, waving.
“I'm guessing he thought it was going to be solid ground, but the plane was completely submerged,” Sullivan said.
The Dolphin descended to about four stories above the muck, and the crew began lowering their elite rescue swimmer. He splashed to the downed plane and confirmed the man was the sole passenger.
Muñoz sent down a basket, and the rescue swimmer and the pilot swam to it.
Officials won’t name the man the Coast Guard crew rescued, but the aircraft is registered to James E. McClain of Townsend, Georgia.
An aerial overview of Savannah is shown during a visit from Undersecretary of the Army Patrick Murphy on Aug. 11, 2016. US Coast Guard Air Station Savannah pilots flew an MH-65D Dolphin over the Savannah saltwater marshes on two search and rescue missions Oct. 22, 2022, during their duty day. US Army Corps of Engineers photo.
The US Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin helicopter crew was flying over a Georgia swamp when the radio crackled a mayday message.
Air Station Savannah pilot Lt. David Sullivan told Coffee or Die Magazine a man warned he was going to crash into a marsh. Sullivan tried to reach the pilot again, but an air traffic controller told him the plane “was already in” the wetland.
It was shortly before sunset on Saturday, Oct. 22, and the 1969 Beech V35A plane’s “engine issues” sent it plummeting into a bog near Shellman Bluff, a fishing village near the Broro and Julienton rivers, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report.
At first, no one knew exactly where the plane had crashed, but then the Midway Police Department got a call about an aircraft in a resident's backyard. Within a few minutes, Sullivan’s Dolphin was hovering 40 stories above the house, his crew staring into the swamp running between the Medway River and the Eagle Neck Airport.
Marsh Rescue (1920x1080, AR: 1.78)And that’s when Aviation Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Daniel Muñoz spotted a man atop a submerged plane, waving.
“I'm guessing he thought it was going to be solid ground, but the plane was completely submerged,” Sullivan said.
The Dolphin descended to about four stories above the muck, and the crew began lowering their elite rescue swimmer. He splashed to the downed plane and confirmed the man was the sole passenger.
Muñoz sent down a basket, and the rescue swimmer and the pilot swam to it.
Officials won’t name the man the Coast Guard crew rescued, but the aircraft is registered to James E. McClain of Townsend, Georgia.
Marsh Rescue (1920x1080, AR: 1.78)
McClain, 71, didn’t return Coffee or Die’s messages seeking comment.
Sullivan said the man escaped the crash with only a few scrapes and “was more frustrated that his airplane was in the water.”
He told Sullivan he’d served 20 years in the US Air Force and his plane was a retirement gift. The man planned to retrieve the aircraft from the marsh and rebuild it, Sullivan added.
The Coasties flew him to Savannah’s Hunter Army Airfield, where he reunited with his family.
“Happy endings are — no matter what the cause is — always the best,” Sullivan said.
The FAA continues to probe the cause of the crash.
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Noelle is a former staff writer for Coffee or Die through a fellowship from Military Veterans in Journalism. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and interned with the US Army Cadet Command. Noelle also worked as a civilian journalist covering several units, including the 75th Ranger Regiment on Fort Benning, before she joined the military as a public affairs specialist.
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