A helicopter crash in Tampa Bay nearly turned fatal, until the pilot and all three passengers were rescued with help from backup Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert and his brothers.
‘I was just right place, right time, I guess,’ Gabbert told reporters Friday after being named as an honorary member of the Tampa Police Marine Patrol. ‘The credit really goes out to Tampa PD, you guys, the fire department, the sheriff’s department, because they were there within five seconds. It was pretty remarkable.’
Philadelphia salesman Hunter Hupp and his parents, Wes and Lisa, were aboard a helicopter on Thursday evening when the rotor made a loud noise, which was later determined to be caused by an engine failure. The pilot was quickly forced to make an emergency landing about 200 yards from Davis Island, where Gabbert and other Bucs players, including Tom Brady, have residences.
Luckily for all four individuals, Gabbert and his brothers Tyler and Brett were out on the water, exploring Davis Island on their jet skis.
A helicopter crash in Tampa Bay nearly turned fatal, until the pilot and all three passengers were rescued with help from backup Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert
Hunter Hupp (right), a Philadelphia salesman, and his parents Wes and Lisa (background) were aboard a helicopter on Thursday evening when the rotor made a loud noise, which was later determined to be caused by an engine failure. The pilot was quickly forced to make an emergency landing about 200 yards from Davis Islands, where Gabbert and other Bucs players, including Tom Brady , have residences
‘I vaguely remember hearing a faint noise, so we turned around, left the yacht club, and I just remember looking to the west,’ Gabbert said. ‘And it almost looked like a crew boat in the water that had broken up into about four pieces. I vaguely remember seeing, like, two yellow life jackets.’
While his parents and the pilot both made it out of the helicopter safely, Hupp struggled to free himself as the aircraft quickly began to take on water and sink. Ultimately he got out and began treading water with the other three.
‘Let me tell you, helicopters sink really fast,’ Hupp told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday. ‘We learned that rather quickly.’
They considered trying to swim for land when they were approached by Gabbert and his brothers.
‘It looked like they were in duress,’ Gabbert said. ‘We raced over there. The youngest kid had just came up and said he was pinned in there, and I asked if anyone else was trapped. Then I called 911, tried to remain as calm as possible.’
A photo of the crashed helicopter that went down in Tampa Bay on Thursday evening
Gabbert and his brother put Hupp and his parents aboard their vessels to bring them to a nearby beach as rescue crews arrived promptly.
‘We got two on my jet ski, my brother’s got one, the pilot was still in the water, and that’s when you guys pulled up,’ Gabbert said, with rescuers in attendance at the Bucs’ practice facility. ‘I dragged [the pilot] a little bit towards the boat and he got on. Luckily enough, we were probably 250 meters from the beach, so we got [the Hupp family] to the beach. The fire department was there, everybody was there.’
Hupp described a pleasant exchange between himself, his parents, and their rescuers.
‘They slowly brought us back to the shore, a sandy beach near the yacht club, and hung out for a while, were really nice,’ Hupp said. ‘We exchanged pleasantries upon reaching flat ground. They were really an asset to helping us out, because we were the only ones out there for a while. It was a handshake and a huge and ”Thank you so much.” They went out for a nice afternoon ride and just happened to come upon a stranded helicopter family.’
Tampa Police are pictured on the scene of Thursday’s helicopter crash by Fox 13
Tampa Police are pictured on the scene of Thursday’s helicopter crash by Fox 13
Tampa Police arrived only moments after the Gabberts, but the quarterback and his brothers still managed to help the four victims avoid a potentially fatal situation by rushing to their rescue when they did.
‘We think about all the what-ifs,’ said Hupp. ‘What happened obviously wasn’t great, but we managed pretty well for what happened.’
Gabbert, meanwhile, credited the rescuers for their quick response: ‘It wasn’t me… The credit goes to these guys, because if they weren’t there in the nick of time, it could have turned bad, and I’m glad everybody’s healthy.’
Hupp admitted he didn’t immediately know that he was saved by an NFL player, but when given a description of Gabbert, told the Times: ‘I think that was the one my mom was clinging to.’
‘My mom said she was hoping to meet Tom Brady while we were down here,’ he said. ‘I think she came pretty darn close.’
The 33-year-old Gabbert is now in his 12th NFL season and fourth in Tampa, where he has yet to play this season. The former first-round pick out of Missouri also backed up Brady throughout the 2020 season, which ended with the Bucs winning a Super Bowl title.
Tampa Police are seen trying to recover the crashed helicopter after Thursday’s crash
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