EDGEWATER, MD – Officers with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources were nearby when a small plane crashed into the ice-covered Beards Creek, a branch of the South River in Edgewater on Monday.
According to the MNRP, nearby kayakers rushed to the scene along with an Anne Arundel County Police Department officer to pull the pilot from the frigid creek. He was able to hang on to the kayak until an MNRP patrol boat came to pull him from the water.
An MNRP officer had to break through the ice to pull the pilot into the boat. The pilot and his rescuers were taken to a nearby marina where EMTs treated them for cold-related exposure. The rescuers were not physically injured.
The heroic rescue occurred at around 11 am on Monday when witnesses observed the single-engine plane piloted by 71-year-old Steve Couchman sputtering out just minutes after taking off at nearby Lee Airport.
He was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.