Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert and his two brothers visiting Florida from St. Louis are being lauded as heroes after helping emergency crews rescue four people from a helicopter crash Thursday afternoon.
According to Tampa Police, a tour helicopter with a pilot and three passengers was on approach to land at Peter O. Knight Airport just after 5 p.m. Thursday when those on board heard a loud bang and the aircraft lost power over Hillsborough Bay, near the Davis Islands Yacht Club.
The pilot conducted an emergency landing in the water, where they were rescued by Gabbert and his two brothers, Tyler and Brett Gabbert, along with the Tampa Police Marine Rescue Unit and Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies, police said.
The three brothers were on their personal watercraft near the yacht club when, Blaine said, he remembered hearing "a faint sound" and then saw what appeared to be a "crew vehicle" in the water that looked like it had broken into four pieces.
He said he then saw two yellow life vests in the water, and they immediately went to the site of the crash and called police.
Gabbert and his brothers were able to get the three passengers — a mother, a father and a son — to shore on their personal watercraft vehicles. The police unit arrived and was able to get the pilot to safety after he was trapped briefly in the cabin of the submerged helicopter.
"I was just in the right place at the right time, I guess," Gabbert said at a press conference later. "But the credit really goes out to the Tampa P.D., the fire department, the sheriff's department, because you guys were there within five seconds [of the 911 call]."
Gabbert, who serves as the backup quarterback to the legendary Tom Brady, said that he initially wanted to remain anonymous and just did what he felt was the "right thing" by helping with the rescue.
"I'm not much of a guy to be in the limelight," Gabbert said. "I like to stay under the radar."
Tampa Police Interim Chief Lee Bercaw lauded Gabbert and his brothers as "heroes" for getting involved in the successful rescue.
"We often say that we cannot do our jobs well without the community and that we are safer together," Bercaw said. "Yesterday was an amazing example of how teamwork, not only in the sports world but also in our hometown, is why our area is known as Champa Bay."
Gabbert said that he imagined the worst case when he and his brothers raced to the scene of the crash and was happy that the rescue had a positive outcome.
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