Gabbert’s jet-ski rescue mission: A crew boat that went into the water with two lifejackets, and a private jet ski
Gabbert said that he used jet skis to help rescue people from a helicopter after it crashed into the water.
It almost looked like a crew boat that had split up in the water, with four pieces, and I vaguely remembered seeing two yellow lifejackets.
The pilot of the helicopter lost power after he heard a loud bang and realized that he was in the wrong place.
Approximately 300 feet from the airport’s beach, the pilot conducted an emergency landing into the water near the Davis Islands Yacht Club, police said, with all occupants ending up in the water.
It looked like they were in a lot of distress. The youngest child just came up and said that he was stuck in there. Gabbert remarked that the family were all covered in oil from the crash landing and asked if anyone else was trapped.
“Then I called 911, tried to remain as calm as possible…I was just right place, right time. The credit really goes out to Tampa police department, the fire department, and the Sheriff’s department because they were there within five seconds.
It was actually a crash-landed helicopter. And it had been carrying a pilot and three passengers — a mother and father in their 60s and their son who is around Gabbert’s age, he said. The pilot had conducted an emergency landing into the water near the Davis Islands Yacht Club after the helicopter lost power, according to the Tampa Police Department.
He said he told the passengers how to inflate their life jackets based on his experience on the water, and got them on his jet ski as quickly as possible. He was able to get two of the passengers on his jet ski, while his brothers took care of another.
Gabbert: a guy to drop everything, go help someone else and save their life. And he didn’t know he had a clue
If you can find a guy to drop everything, go help someone else, without even thinking about it, and help someone else save their life, that’s what you get with Gabbert, that’s what he did.