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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert used jet skis to help rescue the occupants of a helicopter after it crashed into the water Thursday, he said at a news conference Friday.
He and his two brothers, Tyler and Brett, were jet skiing in Hillsborough Bay, Florida, when he said they heard “a faint sound.”
“We turned … and I remember looking west and seeing – it almost looked like a crew boat that had broken into about four pieces in the water – and I vaguely remember seeing two yellow life jackets, Gabbert said.
Once on the scene, Gabbert said he realized it was a helicopter in the water and expected the “worst case scenario.”
Tampa police said the helicopter was heading for Peter O. Knight Airport when the pilot reportedly heard a loud bang and then lost power.
About 300 feet from the airport beach, the pilot crash-landed in the water near the Davis Islands Yacht Club, police said, landing all occupants in the water.
“It seemed like they were in distress. We raced there, the youngest boy had just come up and he said he was trapped there and I asked if anyone else was trapped,” Gabbert said, recalling later at the press conference that the family were all visibly shaken and covered in oil of the emergency landing.
“Then I called 911, trying to stay as calm as possible… I was in the right place at the right time. The credit really goes to the Tampa Police Department, Fire Department, and Sheriff for being there in under five seconds.
“It was quite remarkable. I have two on my jet ski, my brothers have one, the pilot was still in the water. That was when you showed up.
Footage captured by the Tampa Police Department, which arrived shortly after Gabbert and his brothers, shows the jet skis circling the crash site and the helicopter pilot climbing aboard the police boat.
Gabbert and his brothers steered their jet skis safely back to the beach and he was made an honorary member of the Tampa Police Marine Patrol after his part in Thursday’s rescue.