Two Polk County Natural Resources helicopter pilots became rescue heroes on Monday.

  • A Mayday call went over the airways in Polk on Monday
  • Two helicopter pilots were in the area and were able to respond quickly
  • They rescued fellow pilot James Melton, who suffered a head injury

They were spraying weeds on a lake when they heard another pilot on their radio making a Mayday call.

 "From the tone of the 'Mayday, Mayday' we knew that pilot was desperate,” said pilot Pepper Keller.

Keller and fellow pilot Nick Harboe quickly started to search an area near the Bartow Municipal Airport. They had almost given up finding the downed plane when they spotted something in a marshy area about a mile from the airport.

 "I really didn't expect to find a survivable accident,” said Harboe.

But when their chopper got closer to the crash site, they spotted an injured pilot James Melton sitting on the wing of his plane. Melton had a head injury, but he was OK.

 Keller and Harboe landed near the crash site, got Melton into a back seat and flew him to the airport. Melton was treated and released at a local hospital.

The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash.

 "We were definitely, exactly in the right place at the right time,” said Keller.