NOAA Ship 'Thomas Jefferson' Saves Pilot's Life

[IMG=1]A couple of days ago, sailors aboard the Thomas Jefferson research vessel, which is operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), managed to save a downed pilot.

The crew aboard the ship received a message via radio report from the US Coast Guard (USCG), alerting all ships west of Key West, Florida, that a small airplane had went down, and that the pilot was missing.

The Thomas Jefferson, which was conducting mapping surveys about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the reported crash site, responded immediately by heading to a location 2 miles away from the impact site.

The decision on where to go was taken after experts on board calculated the amount of drift the pilot would be subjected to, and the speed of the current that carried him from where the plane crashed.

The NOAA group used a variety of sophisticated navigation equipments to find the pilot, including the ship’s Doppler speed log and GPS positioning equipment, the organization says in a press release.

“We posted extra personnel as lookouts and used our searchlights in a sweeping pattern all while keeping a quiet bridge so we could hear any calls of distress from the pilot,” says CDR Shepard Smith, the ship’s Commanding Officer.

The victim was located at around 1:00 am EDT (0600 GMT), after the Thomas Jefferson crew heard cries for help coming off the port (left) side of the research ship.

“By turning the ship in the direction we originally heard the sound, we were able to locate the person in the water using the searchlight, and guide the rescue boat to pick him up,” Smith adds.

Medical personnel on station on the ship said that the victim appeared to be fine, apart from a cut lip. Considering the man had survived a plane crash, that seems like a small price to pay, they said.

“The Thomas Jefferson is one of the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels in the world, and has been in the Gulf of Mexico since April,” NOAA officials say.

“Its original mission was to map the seafloor and look for hazards to navigation off the Gulf coast. However, following the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, Thomas Jefferson spent 6 weeks conducting research on submerged oil plumes,” they conclude.