Galveston Officer Recounts Desperate Rescue from Submerged Aircraft

Initial Response to Aircraft Down

• 🚨 Dispatch reported a downed plane, prompting officers to head to the area despite extremely foggy conditions.
• 🌫️ Visibility was so low that officers could not visually locate the aircraft, relying on radio calls and civilian reports.

Locating the Crash Site and Debris

• 📞 A civilian caller located the plane and had already rescued a child and a female from the water.
• 🌊 Upon reaching the location, officers observed jet fuel and debris floating on the water's surface.
• 👂 The audible sound of people screaming from inside the submerged aircraft was heard.

Rescue Efforts and Challenges

• 🏊 Sky Decker, a civilian, immediately entered the water and began working to free a survivor.
• 🛠️ Officer Brockstein joined the effort, helping to move debris that was obstructing access to the trapped survivor.
• ⚠️ Sharp cables and plane wreckage, possibly from the left wing, had entangled the survivor, making extraction extremely challenging.
• 🧠 The survivor was found in a small air pocket, struggling to breathe, pinned by debris.

Successful Extraction and Reflection

• ✅ Sky Decker managed to free the survivor from the confined space.
• 🚤 The survivor was then successfully transferred to the boat.
• 🙏 Officer Brockstein expressed that the team did the best they could under the circumstances and does not regret their actions, acknowledging the wish for more survivors but feeling the situation could have been worse.
• 👏 He commended everyone involved for their efforts during the rescue.