When a single‑engine plane vanished behind a line of trees near East Troy Municipal Airport on Sunday, a group of professional skydivers from Skydive Milwaukee were already in the air preparing for a routine jump. The men, all seasoned jumpers, recognized the aircraft’s unusual maneuver and, after confirming the crash, asked their pilot for permission to drop into the area.
Quick decision, swift action
Air traffic control told the pilot that the choice was his, and he responded, “Yes, I am going to drop a couple of them. Yeah, we are going to drop ‘em right now.” The skydivers then leapt from their own plane, landing in the cornfield where the crashed aircraft had come to rest.
John Bechtel, one of the jumpers, told local outlet WSMV that the plane “banked up a little bit, and then disappeared behind the trees.” He recalled the moment the group realized they were witnessing a crash: “We were all sitting there waiting for him to show back up somewhere, and [he] never did. We all just kind of looked at each other like, ‘Did we just see a plane crash?’”
First responders on the scene
Upon landing, the skydivers were the first people to reach the crash site. One of them, a former paramedic, immediately began treating a passenger with a serious head injury until emergency crews arrived. All four occupants of the plane survived the impact.
Bechtel said the timing of their jump “couldn’t have been any better.” He added, “Had we left five minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have seen it. Had we left 15 minutes later, we wouldn’t have been able to get there first and assist.” The skydivers’ rapid response gave the victims critical minutes of care before first responders could get to the scene.
Community gratitude and official response
Local authorities praised the volunteers for their bravery and quick thinking. The Town of East Troy Police Department confirmed the skydivers’ involvement and noted that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating the cause of the crash.
Fox News Digital reached out to Skydive Milwaukee for comment, and the organization expressed pride in its members’ willingness to put their skills to use in an emergency. “I’m just glad that we were able to do what we were able to do and get in and help,” Bechtel said. “To be able to do this and to be able to help others in need — I would absolutely do that in a heartbeat.”
What’s next?
The NTSB will conduct a thorough investigation to determine why the aircraft crashed. Meanwhile, the East Troy community is reflecting on the remarkable act of service by the skydivers, who turned a recreational activity into a life‑saving mission.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
