Bucs QB Blaine Gabbert assisted with helicopter rescues, making 4 saves

Greg Ohman

NFC South reporter

Floating in the open waters after he and his parents made an emergency landing in the waters off the Davis Islands Thursday night, Hunter Hope had no idea the three men who quickly approached on two jet skis as he strode. Water.

Hope, 28, had spent the previous hour flying to the beaches and back as a Christmas present, but he and the other helicopter occupants heard a loud noise in the rotor above and had to plunge into the water, about 200 yards from the beach.

“Let me tell you, helicopters are sinking so fast,” Hope said Friday morning, grateful for waking up to another morning with his parents. “We learned that fairly quickly.”

Hope’s parents, Wes and Lisa, escaped from the helicopter as it plunged into the water, as did the pilot, but Hope was the last to emerge, unable to free himself for about a minute before emerging to the surface. The four floated together, just inches from the helicopter appearing above the water, thinking about waiting for help or trying to swim for landing fully clothed, then almost immediately they saw two men on jet skis approaching.

was one of them Tampa Bay Buccaneers Backup quarterback Blaine Gappert, who lives on Davis Island and was part of the rescue effort, along with his two brothers, Tyler and Brett. Hope said the two men helped his father onto one of the jet skis, and he and his mother helped him onto the other, staying with them and coordinating how to bring back more people than the jet skis were supposed to carry.

“They slowly took us back to the beach, which is a sandy beach near the yacht club, and hung out for a while, they were really nice,” Hope said. “We exchanged pleasantries upon getting to flat ground. It was really a plus to help us out, since we were the only ones there for a while. It was a handshake and a hug and, ‘Thank you very much.’ They went out for a nice afternoon drive and came across a stuck helicopter family.”

Image credit: Hunter Hupp

Tampa police arrived in a boat within five minutes, Huff said, but the presence of the two jet skis there soon prevented them from spending much time alone in the water, unsure how long they could stay afloat.

“We think all if,” said Hope, who lives in Philadelphia and works in sales. “Obviously it wasn’t great what happened, but we managed really well with what happened.”

Gabert, 33, is in his 12th season in the NFL and fourth with the Bucks, although he hasn’t played a snap this season as the best backup for Tom Brady. The Bucs have been busy Preparing for Sunday’s game against Carolinaas the win could win Tampa Bay a second straight state championship, but that wasn’t all Gabert did on Thursday.

The veteran QB spoke at a news conference with local law enforcement officials who called him a “hero citizen” Friday after practice, but said he and his brothers simply went out for a ride on an unseasonably warm December afternoon and were lucky to be in the right place. to help someone.

“It was just a really bad situation that turned out to be a good one in the end,” Gabbier said. “I was in the right place, at the right time… The credit really goes to the Tampa emergency department, the fire department, and the sheriff’s department because they were there in five seconds. It was amazing. It wasn’t just me and my brothers outside having fun.”

Gabert received a ceremonial “unit coin” from the Tampa Police Department’s marine unit and a navy table as an “honorary member” of the department from the city’s interim police chief, Lee Berko. His brother Tyler played football for Missouri and Central Florida from 2010 to 2013, and his brother Brett has been a starter for Miami (Ohio) since 2019.

Hope said he had no idea he had a lifeguard NFL The quarterback, as they exchanged no more than first names, but told a description of Gabbert, said “I think that’s the one my mom was hooking up with.”

“My mom said she hoped to meet Tom Brady while we were here,” he said. “I think she got a little too close.”

Tampa police said a helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing just after 5 p.m. Thursday due to engine failure as it approached Peter O. Knight Airport, at the southern tip of the Davis Islands, in Hillsborough Bay, the northeastern tip of Tampa Bay. Local agencies are working to remove the submerged helicopter from the water on Friday morning.

Gabbert did not say who he was and said he was content to remain anonymous until his identity was revealed. attended a Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night game with his brothers, and within an hour of the rescue, he received a text from Bucks general manager Jason Licht, asking “Did you just save some people from a helicopter crash?”

Gabbert owns a home in the Davis Islands, in an area that many Tampa Bay professional athletes, including Brady, have called home. He said he’s spent a lot of time on the water in his adult life, and he knows he’s in charge when he does, realizing that you don’t always have control over what happens there.

“Water and Mother Nature, undefeated,” he said. “If you don’t treat the ocean with the utmost respect, in the air or on a boat, they will always come back to bite you. You always have to be responsible and very aware and know what’s going on. … I’m glad they all succeeded in life. I was just trying to do the right thing and help them” .

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Greg Aumann is FOX Sports’ NFC South correspondent, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, and Saints. He’s in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full time, after spending time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @employee

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