A frightening scene unfolded when a helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the water off the coast of Tampa following an engine failure on Thursday evening. Among those that provided assistance to the four passengers was Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
28-year-old Hunter Hupp, his 62-year-old father, 59-year-old mother and the pilot, 33, were aboard the helicopter when Hupp said he heard a popping sound in the aircraft’s rotor, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Police Department lieutenant Daniel College said that the helicopter experienced an engine failure and Hupp said that the helicopter wouldn’t have been able to make it back Peter O. Knight Airport.
The helicopter hit the water approximately 200 yards from the shore of the Davis Islands and all of the passengers were able to escape and make their way to the surface as the helicopter submerged. Among those who then helped to rescue the family from the water was Gabbert, the Bucs backup quarterback, who was on a personal watercraft at the time, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
None of the four occupants of the helicopter were injured, according to police. The Tampa Police Department said in a news release it “is currently coordinating with local and federal agencies regarding the investigation and eventual recovery of the helicopter.”
