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3 honored for helping injured pilot in Vienna
Photo
Ronald Catchpole of Howland, third from left, stands with the three men honored Wednesday by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for their actions Oct. 29, when Catchpole’s 1990 Pietenpol Aircamper crashed just after takeoff from Price Field on Pleasant Valley Road in Vienna Township. From left are Dr. Bob Bennett, Bob Boyd, Catchpole and Jeff Jardine.
By Ed Runyan
VIENNA
Ronald Catchpole of Howland spent a week in the hospital recovering from broken ribs and other injuries he suffered in an accident Oct. 29 while flying his small, recreational aircraft near Price Field here.
He remembers having engine trouble, which prevented his 1990 Pietenpol Aircamper from gaining sufficient altitude on takeoff.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyplace to go but the trees,” Catchpole said Wednesday of the crash, which he doesn’t remember.
Price Field, also known as Smith-Stewart Field, is a 1,800-foot grass airstrip off of Pleasant Valley Road.
Fortunately for Catchpole, 54, a friend named Jeff Jardine, who is also a pilot and lives near the airfield, “watched the whole scenario play out” from his home on Smith-Stewart Road, Jardine said.
The next thing Jardine did was get in his car and drive down Pleasant Valley Road looking for the crash.
Along the way, he met up with Dr. Bob Bennett of Pleasant Valley Road, who was in his yard, and the two found Catchpole in just a couple of minutes.
The aircraft was in pieces, and Catchpole was on his knees underneath the wreckage, in a creek filled with 18 inches of water. Fuel was leaking out of the aircraft.
Jardine and Dr. Bennett, a patholologist at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital, took Catchpole out of the creek to assess his injuries.
Dr. Bennett administered first aid and treated Catchpole for shock and hypothermia. Catchpole was bleeding from his head, appeared to be having trouble breathing and was disoriented.
Another neighbor, Bob Boyd of Pleasant Valley Road, showed up in a four-wheeler and helped direct paramedics to the accident location.
Lt. Brian Holt, commander of the Southington Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, invited all four men to the post Wednesday so he could give certificates of recognition to the three men who ensured that Catchpole survived the episode.
“The quick action of Mr. Jardine and Dr. Bennett could possibly have saved the life of Mr. Catchpole,” Holt said. “Mr. Boyd also went above and beyond in his efforts to help first-responders and Mr. Catchpole.”
It took very little time for Vienna paramedics to get to Catchpole, and it took very little more time to get him loaded up on the back of a trailer pulled by Boyd’s four-wheeler and get him to an ambulance, said Mike Hagood, assistant chief for the Vienna Fire Department.
“Without these guys, who knows what would have happened,” Hagood said of Bennett, Jardine and Boyd.
“It’s lucky they saw him go down. They kept him awake and got him out of the water,” Hagood said.
Catchpole said the reason the aircraft’s engine lost power was because ice got into the carburetor.
“I was just going to go for a little ride,” Catchpole said. “I’m obviously very grateful for the people who helped.” Catchpole said he still has a sore back and ribs.
“I was very impressed,” Holt said of why he felt recognition was warranted for the three men.
The Vienna Fire Department also plans to honor the men at 7 p.m. March 5 at the Vienna Township Hall.