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ROSS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT

Date: September 2007
Rescued: Flood Victims
Pilots & Rescue Team: Lt. Pierce, Chief Hayburn and Deputy Matt Litter

Airboating Magazine, 2007

We were called out during an intense storm. The highway we were traveling had many spots covered by water; in some cases two feet deep. The rain wouldn't quit and only the flashes of lightening made it possible for us to see through the rain. We all felt that we were driving into the heart of a monster. As we proceeded toward our first destination, we encountered washouts that covered the road with 2 feet of dirt and rocks that collapsed off of the hillsides from the heavy rains. We were in a four wheel drive GMC Jimmy pulling a Hoverguard 700. Not being discouraged by the obstacle, we drove over the debris only to encounter two more identical obstacles in the road. Luckily we were able to get over each of these debris fields and continue on to the first address of distress. Live electrical lines were down across the road; not to mention that a bridge over a usually quiet creek was now overcome by a foot of water. We made the decision to drive across the bridge even though water was raging over the bridge. Both truck and hovercraft made it safely to the other side. We were approximately 1/4 mile from our destination and we safely unloaded the hovercraft. The rain was driving so hard that even with the cockpit drain plugs pulled; the cockpit was still filling with water. We kept the bilge pump going to evacuate the rain water until we were able to fire the engine. Chief Hayburn, Lt. Pierce and I jumped in the craft and proceeded to hover down the county road until we reached the victim's address.

We arrived at 1:00 AM, the rains continued to make it difficult to see, but the light from the hovercraft illuminated the area well. Ahead of us was a small field with a tree line separating us from the home. There was an 8' wide opening in the tree line, which was the only opening to get to the residence. Right in that small opening was a 3 foot standing wave that was charging downhill perpendicular to our course. Aiming for the opening through the trees, we navigated to avoid the bushes and other vegetation that were sticking up above the water. Not able to get a straight shot at the opening, we had to keep the throttle open enough so that when we went through the gap we would have enough speed to break through the standing wave. Charging the opening and slightly grazing a tree the hovercraft plowed through the standing wave. At the house, there were two adults and three children and the water was raising quickly. We had minutes to get those people out. Our first load consisted of the three children. The toughest thing about this rescue was knowing that each time you went to and from the residence we would have to "shoot" that small opening in the tree line while successfully negotiating the ill-placed 3 foot standing wave. To quickly shoot through the standing wave, we increased the craft speed. Completely surrounded in darkness except for the occasional lightening flash; there was no knowledge of the area or what lay in wait for us if we were thrown off course and down current. We again shot the gap to rescue the adults and navigate them to safety. The intense driving ran had gotten the hovercraft air filter wet, making the engine run rich. It was an eerie feeling not knowing if the power was going to be there when you needed it. The adrenaline was pumping through all of our veins as we hovered down a dark country road back to the Jimmy and the hovertrailer. We could see with every lightening strike, the raging waters that were coursing through a normally benign creek. It sent chills down our spin because we realized what a dangerous situation we had been through

As we left the rescue scene, more and more distress calls were coming over the radio; it was easy to see that we were in for a long night. Arriving at the next scene at 2:30 am, Bucksin creek had overflowed its banks submerging Highway 41. The smell of fuel oil was everywhere and the scene was truly a disaster. To get to this house, we had to hover over what used to be the highway. There were two currents merging into one; the current from Bucksin creek and the water run off from the hillsides. We traveled 1/2 mile over these raging waters. On our first trip across the flood waters we narrowly missed being hit by a floating fuel oil tanker. The tanker was traveling fast with the current. If it had hit us, we probably wouldn't be here right now. The hovercraft carried us across the raging flood waters to the other side. We were now able to hover over visible parts of the highway. Just as soon as the highway appeared it disappeared underwater again. We traveled far enough that we could now see the house that was surrounded by water. Two people were stranded in their home. We hovered up to the porch and quickly loaded them in.

The storm began to rage again as we were heading back to safety. Before we reached the flooded area of the highway, we were traveling back over the part of Route 41 that wasn't under water. Just when we thought everything was under control, a wall of water dropped out of nowhere; impacting the hovercraft from the top and side. The estimated 2 foot water shed hit us with such force that it washed us off of the road into a drainage ditch.

Later we learn that there was a 30 foot cliff face next to the highway and water was collecting on top of it during the storm. As luck would have it, as we passed by that spot, it reached the tipping point and became a waterfall. It was pitch black and it hit us without warning. Both Lt. Pierce and I instructed our passengers to stay in the craft while we tried to get the craft back up onto the road. We successfully pushed the craft with our two occupants out of the ditch. We took a minute to catch our breathes and check over the hovercraft. The force of the impact smashed us against a fence row next to the drainage ditch and unhooked all of the skirting on the starboard side. Not wanting to wait around to see what else was going to happen, the decision was made to leave Lt. Pierce behind to reduce weight and take the two victims back to where the rescue personnel were standing by. With half of the skirting dangling beneath the craft, the craft came up on cushion and traveled well. With the two passengers and me, we traversed the flooded part of the highway and returned to our standing point.

After the two ladies were safe, I took a few minutes to fix the skirting back to their original positions; at the same time I was able to stay in radio contact with Lt. Pierce to make sure he was still OK. With the skirting fixed, I returned across the flooded highway to retrieve Lt. Pierce. Lt. Pierce jumped into the craft and we safely returned to our starting point. While we were making this rescue, Route 41 was flooding behind us; thereby possibly trapping us. We loaded the hovercraft onto its trailer and decided to see if we could get out of the area. We came to the area that was beginning to flood. We estimated that the water was about 3 foot deep in a span of 20 feet. We decided to try to cross this area; not the best decision that we ever made. As we drove the Jimmy into the water the headlights disappeared and then water began lapping against the windshield. Not eager to become a statistic, Chief Hayburn pressed the accelerator and the Jimmy with the hovercraft in tow luckily came up and out of the water.

Having a night full of this kind of excitement was enough for two life times, but as we would find out, this wasn't the end of the night. We called the dispatcher to let them know that the 2nd rescue was successful and we were available for any other calls. It just so happened that two motorist had driven into flood waters and were stranded. The location of the victims was about 30 minutes from our location. We radioed back and said that we were in route. At 4:30 AM, we arrived at the scene. This time two motorists had driven their cars into the water where they stalled. We unloaded the hovercraft on to the road. we evacuated the rain water from the cockpit that again collected from the deluge. We fired up the engine and Lt. Pierce and me hovered to and retrieved the motorists. This scene seemed somewhat surreal because when we arrived there was a news truck there from Columbus to cover the story. Their crew's lights lit up the are to some degree, but knowing that a camera was catching every move offered its own distractions. As the hovercraft returned the motorists to safety by flying out of the water and up on to the "dry" road, the news media was there with microphone in hand to immediately interview the victims

The night filled with scary moments and danger was finally over. The hovercraft did its job incredibly well. It returned those who were victims and those who were a part of its team safely. We accomplished things that only a hovercraft could have accomplished. No other vehicle type was able to attempt what was performed by the hovercraft that night. No helicopter could have flown during that storm and no boat of any type could have been deployed in those waters. It was interesting to note that many rescue boats showed up to a couple of the rescue scenes, but none left their trailers. The hovercraft proved its worth to the community, to the department and to many others. Now neighboring communities are asking why they don't have a hovercraft.