Captain Kyle Johnson and his fishing charter were headed to the Chandeleur Islands, off Gulfport, Mississippi, when they saw a seaplane making a bad landing in the Mississippi Sound.
The fishing boat, a Blue Wave center console, sped over to the airplane to see how they could help. Under Johnson’s instruction, he and his charter clients transferred the plane’s occupants onto his boat and returned them to land.
“It was rough seas, so the boat was rocking very bad and so was the plane,” Johnson recounted to WLOX News. He noted that the Chandeleur Islands are very remote, at least 25 miles offshore with no cell service. According to Johnson, the Coast Guard could have taken up to an hour to reach the plane.
Now, Johnson has reevaluated how he prepares his charters in terms of safety supplies.
“If something would’ve happened with them and us, I would only have enough life jackets on my boat for me and my people,” he said. “So bring more emergency equipment than you need and always have a plan if something goes wrong because you never know what’s going to happen out there.”
