June 24, 2012 – The fishing stars of reality television show “Wicked Tuna” sprung into action Friday to rescue a pilot who crashed his aircraft just as he was returning from a trip as a spot plane in their hunt for tuna.
The aviator, affectionately known to the crew as “Pat the Pilot,” was uninjured after the crash about 12 nautical miles east of Gloucester, said the U.S. Coast Guard and a crew member for the Gloucester-based fishing boat Christina. The boat is featured on the National Geographic show profiling local tuna fishermen.
“He called me and said ‘I’m going down’ — words I never want to hear again,” said Christina deck boss Greg Chorebanian, who made a panicked scramble to calculate the crash site based on the radio call as the Coast Guard launched a helicopter, Falcon jet and motor lifeboat.
As the Christina sped to the crash, the jet located the pilot in a life raft attached to the tail of the plane, the Coast Guard said.
Read the full story at the Boston Herald.