NOAA crew uses ocean science and nautical skill to save downed pilot

摘要

The crew of the NOAA research vessel Thomas Jefferson carried out an extraordinary rescue in August of the pilot of a small private plane that ditched in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast during the middle of the night. After the Cessna 172 Skyhawk lost power shortly after taking off from Bartow Regional Airport in Florida on the night of Aug. 14, its pilot was able to radio his latitude and longitude to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control before his aircraft splashed into the Gulf.