74-Year-Old Pilot Recalls Plane Crash

Rodney Tyoe anticipated a day of joy rides with his family aboard his seaplane on Thursday, June 14 near Tierre Verde.

Tyoe first offered to give his 13-year-old grandson a plane ride but the boy chose to swim in the gulf instead.

So family friend Gina Zimmerman, 55, joined the private pilot.

Tyoe felt it was safe to get in the air, so he checked the forecast and said the wind was silent during take-off.

Within a matter of minutes, Tyoe knew the wind picked up. "This ain't good," said Tyoe, a former St. Pete firefighter.

He decided to land immediately, lowering from 100 feet above the water to just 30. That's when he felt a rush of wind that flipped the plane, tail over front.

"It just hit so hard, it hit, turned and went over," Tyoe said.

About 400 to 500 yards away, a nearby fisherman witnessed the crash. Gus Hertz watched as the plane hit the water.

"I knew they were in trouble," Hertz said.

Hertz drove as fast as he could to help. Tyoe had minor injuries, but Gina Zimmerman couldn't move her body. She kept her head above water, bobbing, until help arrived.

"I had no feeling. I could see my arm, but I couldn't feel anything," Zimmerman said.

Once Hertz arrived on scene, he and Tyoe helped pull Zimmerman up.

"I just started crying. I kept saying 'thank you, thank you, thank you,' " Zimmerman said.

"He's my angel," she said.

During the rescue the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team met up with Hertz and helped transport the people back to shore.

Tyoe says Hertz's help was instrumental in getting Zimmerman to the hospital.

"He made a difference in getting Gina help," Tyoe said.

Tyoe says Hertz was so calm during the rescue. "He took charge," Tyoe said.

Tyoe recognizes that leadership ability during emergency situations very well. He retired from St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue in 1972 due to an injury during a fire. He says he was removing an electical meter from a house fire when it nearly cut off his right hand.

The metal cut through skin, arteries and tendons. It was repaired and Tyoe says he can move it just fine. It was one year after retirement that Tyoe began flying. Although his ultralight plane is nearly destroyed, he has no plans to quit now.

Gina Zimmerman believes she'll make a full recovery. She says the crash pinched nerves and caused her to lose feeling. She's feeling better each day as feeling returns to arms and legs.

All three were reunited on Thursday, one week from the crash, at a "Heroic Citizen Award Ceremony," at the St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Station #11. Hertz was recognized for his bravery and heroism.