LEICESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A father and son out on their snowmobiles sprang into action to help rescue the victims of a small plane crash in Leicester on Tuesday evening.
Bryce Giggey and his son Mitchel were riding in the area of Moose Hill Road shortly before 5 p.m. when they noticed something odd with a small plane flying overhead.
“We saw a plane. It looked pretty low,” Mitchel Giggey recalled. “Then all of a sudden, the plane disappeared and we heard a big bang.”
The plane had crashed in a remote part of the woods with three people and a dog on board.
“We’ve got a big problem here,” the pilot can be heard saying on a distress call. “We’ve got a lot of ice.”
Emergency crews responding to the scene met up with the Giggeys, who helped direct them toward the crash scene.
“The fire people that we talked to didn’t really know where it was because the bridge is out there down below, so they couldn’t really get there,” Bryce Giggey said.
The Giggeys and a friend of Mitchell’s rode their snowmobiles to the wrecked plane and helped one of the passengers.
“He was in a lot of pain,” Bryce Giggey recalled. “He was like, ‘Ahh my shoulder.’ I just said, ‘Relax buddy, we’ll get you there.'”
Bryce Giggey brought back a sled stretcher on his snowmobile for rescuers to help a second passenger.
“She was definitely in the worst shape,” he said. “It took them a while to get her out of there.”
A third passenger had walked away from the wreckage in search of help and is OK.
Mitchel Giggey’s friend rescued the dog that was onboard.
The harsh weather and wilderness proved to be a challenge for the rescuers.
“The guys, by the time they got up to the wreckage, they were spent, they were tired,” Tebow said. “They were walking through snowdrifts up there up to their knees. Thank god for the snowmobilers in the area who helped us out.”
Officials say the victims of the plane crash will survive but did not give any updates on the extent of their injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
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