Vance pilots use self-aid buddy care to save the day

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Over the recent holiday Capts. John and Katie McGregor used the skills learned in self-aid buddy care training to come to the aid of three civilians who were in a small plane that crashed near Kalaeloa Airport in Oahu, Hawaii. 

Captain John McGregor is a T-6 instructor pilot assigned to the 8th Flying Training Squadron at Vance. Captain Katie McGregor is a T-1 instructor pilot assigned to the 32nd Flying Training Squadron. Both graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2004 and attended Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance, graduating in June and August of 2006, respectively. 

The McGregors were on vacation in Hawaii from Dec. 16 to Dec. 25 with
family. On Dec. 19, the couple was driving back from a surfing lesson with
Katie's sister and brother-in-law, Jessica and Jim Rosenberg.

"We were driving down the road northeast of the airport," John explained. "Then we saw the plane coming in making about a 60 degree bank turn and descending quickly. It just didn't look right to us." 

"John was driving, and he was the first person to notice that something was off," said Katie. "He does a lot of visual flight rules training patterns with new student pilots so it was easy for him to identify how abnormal it looked."

Moments later the McGregors saw the crashed plane a quarter mile up the road. The aircraft was a single-engine Piper Cherokee. It had gone through several power lines and kiawe trees, shearing off one of the wings and leaving it in the middle of the road. The fuselage had slid to a stop beneath a different tree on the left-hand side of the street.

The McGregors and Rosenbergs pulled over immediately to assist with the situation. Army Capt. George Aubert, who had been driving down the road coming from the opposite direction, also pulled over to lend a hand. 

"The first thing we did was check the people," said Katie. "It was a female pilot and two passengers, a married couple." 

The wind screen and side windows of the cockpit of the aircraft had popped out, leaving very little broken glass behind. Working together, John and Captain Aubert were able to safely reach the civilians inside the wreckage, undo their seatbelts and pull them to safety. 

"They were all conscious, but were suffering from some shock. They also all had some serious bruises and lacerations," said John. 

Being members of the military, the McGregors and Captain Aubert had received self-aid/buddy care training. Fortunately, the same was true for Katie McGregor's family members - Mrs. Rosenberg is a former combat medic in the Army, and Mr. Rosenberg is a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, as well as a civilian pilot. 

Mr. Rosenberg was familiar with the Kalaeloa Airport area, and was able to call 911 and direct medical assistance to their location. The officers applied direct pressure to bleeding wounds, elevated the passengers' lower extremities as best as possible, and kept the passengers warm, calm and conscious until the paramedics arrived. 

"Thanks to our flight experience, we also knew that the aircraft had to be secured," said Katie. "There was smoke coming from the cowling, so we shut off the fuel source and disconnected the battery to prevent an explosion." 

About five minutes after the emergency call was made, the Kalaeloa Airport crash response team arrived on the scene. They provided oxygen to the passengers until ambulances arrived to take them to the hospital; by this time both the husband and wife in the crash were in serious condition. All three of the people in the crash survived. 

"The important thing in this unfortunate situation is that everyone survived. What we did is what we would have wanted someone to do for us," said Katie.

"Really, any military member in the same situation would have done the same thing," agreed John. "It just happened to be us this time."