OCEAN CITY, Md. - An Ocean City Fire Department rescue boat was used to recover the victim of Wednesday night's deadly military plane crash in the Chincoteague Bay.
OC Fire Department Water Rescue Commander David Peterson says his crews quickly stepped in to assist the much smaller Stockton Volunteer Fire Company.
"Once we arrived, we rendezvoused with other rescue teams and entered the fuselage into the aircraft with two of our divers to free the subject in the fuselage," Peterson said.
Neighbors we spoke with say naval exercises above Wallops Island Flight Facility are a common sight.
"It happens so often that I don't even notice it. I was in the Air Force and I'm used to plane flying all the time. It was just a shock to everybody," said Clarence Bowden of Wallops Island.
Peterson says rescue members received a message of gratitude from the people rescued from the plane crash.
"He wanted to thank Ocean City divers for going in to get his personnel. They had a conversation with our divers expressing their thank you," Peterson said.
The rescue was a team effort conducted by a number of jurisdictions, says Peterson.
"We're all there to do the same thing. Other dive teams were there to do the same thing and work together and get the job done," he said.
