Wisconsin skydivers jump to help after plane crashes into East Troy cornfield
CBS 58 EAST TROY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A pilot and a skydiver jumped into action after a plane crashed into a cornfield in East Troy Sunday, Sept. 27.
"I have a plane crash, just south of East Troy," said pilot Jonah Johnson, through radio communication.
Johnson was out flying a plane full of skydivers Sunday, when he says he saw another plane drop below the tree line and never come back up.
"The first thing that goes through my head is to stay calm," said Johnson. "The last thing I need is to do is freak out and have the people behind me freaking out, and then we become a disaster waiting to happen and not help out."
Johnson immediately radioed the tower, and his passengers were ready to help.
"He’s in a field," said Johnson. "If possible, I can drop a load of skydivers right over them to potentially help aid."
"It's so cool that they were ready to be there to help, and willing to jump into a bean field and get out their gear and run through the corn just to help the plane that went down," said Johnson.
Kevin Flynn, with Skydive Milwaukee, was one of three skydivers who made the jump to help.
"You think, oh my God, how can I help, what can I do?" said Flynn. "Fortunately, myself and John Bechtel, we're both former EMTs and we made a decision and said, hey, we think we can help."
Flynn said when they hit the ground, they couldn't see the plane through the tall corn.
"I got in there and started doing the Marco Polo game to get a response," said Flynn. "People started yelling at me so I could dial in where I was going."
He says at first, everyone seemed to be okay, but then they crawled over the wreckage to help a woman who was bleeding from her head until emergency crews arrived.
Police say three people in the crash were taken for medical evaluation and one was released at the scene.
"It could’ve been a lot worse for those poor people in that crash, no fatalities," said Flynn. "I know it’s a terrible thing to happen, but I think it’s a wonderful outcome."
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.