VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Two men helped pull a pilot and co-pilot out of a lake after they were forced to eject themselves from a fighter jet due to engine failure during a Michigan air show.
The plane crash happened during the Thunder Over Michigan air show at Willow Run Airport.
Bailey Driffor said he had only been watching the air show for about 15 minutes when two pilots ejected themselves from a plane overhead. He said he saw them land, picked up his phone, and started recording.
“Instantly, right when the dude hit the water, he came flying right to him, instantly,” Driffor said.
MORE: Officials: Engine failure caused jet to crash at Michigan air show; pilot was injured
Mark Duff was driving a boat in the lake and drove the co-pilot to safety.
“When I got over there, his head was just barely above water,” Duff said. “He was treading water. I grabbed him, and he said, ‘Thank you. I felt like I was going under, and this is not the place to go under.’”
Duff helped the co-pilot onto his boat as Charlie Rowell and his friends were doing the same thing on the other side of Belleville Lake. They had also seen the plane malfunction, the canopy come off, and the ejections that followed.
“We didn’t stick around to see the airplane go down,” Rowell said. “We said, ‘We’re going right now.’”
Their boat transported the pilot to safety.
“He was visibly shaken, physically,” Rowel said. “I think he was in good shape.”
Rowell said the pilot’s biggest concern was where the plane landed and if anyone was hurt.
On Monday, the pilot got an up-close look at the crash scene.
“It’s absolutely remarkable that nobody on the lake, on the ground themselves, were seriously hurt or injured,” Rowell said. “To me, it’s a miracle.”
“Call it a miracle, call it what you want,” Duff said. “It’s amazing that everyone was safe.”
You can hear more from the rescuers in the video at the top of this page.