A single-engine Cessna 172M crashed in the Everglades at 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday. To compound the problem of splashing down in a remote alligator-infested portion of Florida, the local sheriff’s office wouldn’t learn about the crash until 10:00 a.m. As a result, the pilot was forced to spend the next nine hours atop the wing of his downed aircraft to stay out of the water.
The Cessna is based out of a Miami-Dade flight school, WTVJ reports, though it’s a little strange that someone went out for a flight alone after midnight. When emergency responders finally learned about the crash, they had to arrive on the scene via helicopter. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue went down somewhere near Mack’s Fish Camp, an Everglades wildfire tourism business. The agency stated, “Due to the remote location of the incident and difficult terrain, MDFR’s Air Rescue North arrived on scene to conduct a hoist operation in order to rescue the patient from the downed aircraft and provide medical care.”
The pilot was then airlifted to a hospital in a more populated area of Broward County with only a minor leg injury. Fire chief Michael Kane told WFOR, “To be able to seemingly walk away with just a leg injury after putting an aircraft down in the Everglades with the thick brush is an amazing feat in itself and we’re very grateful that he’s okay.”
Local authorities haven’t revealed any information as to how someone almost fed himself to the gators for a late-night snack. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what caused the crash.