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Frederick resident Steve Couchman was hospitalized at the Anne Arundel Medical Center on Monday, Dec. 26, after his Piper Cherokee single-engine plane went down, according to investigators.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning, Maryland State Police from the Glen Burnie and Annapolis barracks were dispatched to a reported plane crash near Lee Airport in Edgewater.
Officials say that the initial investigation determined that moments after Couchman took off from the airport, the engine of his plane began sputtering. Witnesses later said that they could hear the engine failing before the splash landing in nearby Beards Creek.
Two nearby kayakers and an on-duty Anne Arundel County Police Department officer who heard the call were able to skim across the iced creek to assist Couchaman while the plane was sinking.
According to police, while the plane was sinking into the creek, Couchman was able to exit the plane and stood on the wing until he was rescued by the kayakers.
“Moments later officers from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police responded to the scene by boat,” a state police spokesperson said. “Upon their arrival, an officer cut through the ice and pulled the pilot safely into the boat and transported him to the Annapolis Landing Marina nearby where the pilot was subsequently transported by ambulance to the hospital.”
Officers are still at the scene on Monday afternoon to continue the investigation. None of the kayakers were injured during the daring rescue.
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