Pete Brawn talks about the injuries to his right arm, which included nerve damage that has been repaired with surgery.
(Mark Ylen/Democrat-Herald)
By Steve Lathrop, Albany Democrat-Herald
For four harrowing hours, Pete Brawn watched aircraft fly overhead knowing they couldn’t see him.
But even as hours passed and he remained afloat in the Pacific Ocean miles from San Diego, it never occurred to Brawn that he would not survive.
“Honestly, not once did I think they wouldn’t find us, even though I knew the planes couldn’t see us. It was like looking down in a black hole for them,” he said .
Brawn, 33, is a Marine captain and fighter pilot from Albany.
He and his weapons officer, Paul Brand, were forced to eject from their F/A-18 Hornet before it crashed headlong into the Pacific around 10 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2011.
Night rescues are extremely tricky and improbable, but both men were found by the U.S. Coast Guard after that four-hour air and sea search.
Brawn’s father Dan said it took “a series of miracles” for the two to survive.
Flying a routine training mission over the Pacific, Brawn, a six-year fighter pilot, found himself fighting for control of the craft. He waited as long as he thought he could before he ejected himself and Brand from the jet.
“I tried to recover it, but there came a time that we had to get out,” Brawn said. “It was dark and I couldn’t see the ocean. I knew we were real low to the water.”
At 600 mph and 2,300 feet above the sea, Brawn executed the ejection, the force from which he described as incredible.
As soon as his head cleared the canopy, Brawn’s helmet and wristwatch were torn off.
“You are literally being shot out of a rocket. I was told it is the equivalent accelerating at 16 Gs of force per second,” Brawn said. “Your arms aren’t restrained. They were like twigs in a windstorm.”
The force shattered the humerus bones in both his arms, and he was knocked unconscious. When he awoke, he was in the water. As it was designed to do, his life jacket had inflated around his neck, keeping his head where he could breathe.
Brawn said he landed not far from Brand. They were floating amid jet fuel from the wreckage, which may have kept sharks away. The two men kept communicating during their long wait in the darkness.
“Yelling back and forth kept us alert and kept our spirits up,” Brawn said.
He admitted it was frustrating to see search planes overhead while knowing searchers couldn’t see the them in the water. Making matters worse was the fact Brawn’s arms were completely useless as a result of his injuries.
Searching near the crash site at about 2 a.m., rescuers on a Coast Guard vessel saw the two men.
“Paul still had his whistle and I think that got their attention. When they shined a light on me, I knew we would be all right,” Brawn said.
The rescue came from the air. Ships guided a Coast Guard helicopter, and it lowered a diver and a basket. First Brawn and then Brand were plucked from the 60-degree water.
A cold ride to the Naval base in San Diego followed.
“They treated us immediately for hypothermia,” Brawn said.
The men were rushed to Balboa Naval Medical Hospital and into emergency surgery. Along with the damage to his arms, Brawn also had a broken bone in his right leg.
Brawn said he didn’t remember, however, being in great pain.
“Maybe it was the shock. I do remember that I couldn’t move. That was a helpless feeling,” he said.
Luckily, there was no internal damage or bleeding.
The Marines notified Brawn’s family of the rescue. The call came to Brawn’s parents at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 13.
“I expected the worst. My heart was suspended,” said Pete’s father, Dan.
Brawn’s parents flew immediately to San Diego. Dan came in from Albany, and his mother, Carolyn, who was in Texas with a brother who was recuperating from heart bypass surgery at the time, came from there.
Carolyn had recently retired from the airline industry, and her former boss helped her and Dan book flights right away.
Mathew, Brawn’s brother, flew in from Brazil, where he was working at starting a business.
“My family has been incredible through all of this, and I have heard from all kinds of friends,” said Brawn, a 1996 graduate of West Albany High School. “I can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”
Brawn had been the top of his flight class wherever he trained and that was one of the reasons he lived through the ordeal according to his father.
“Every Marine I talked to said it was amazing they survived,” Dan Brawn said. “It was a series of miracles.”
His parents were by his side almost constantly for eight weeks.
“It was heart-wrenching,” said his father. “If Pete had waited a microsecond longer, he may not have made it.”
Brawn’s reaction was instinctive, like his flying skills. He had been flying since he was 16, when the bug to be airborne hit him while a student at West Albany. His dream was to fly Marine fighter planes.
He enlisted in October 2005 and was among the top pilots during his training. He had been stationed in San Diego for more than a year before the incident.
Naval surgeons had Brawn on the operating table for 12 hours during the first of eight surgeries. He then spent two weeks in intensive care. There was nerve damage to both arms, and he has a titanium rod in his leg. For the last nine months he has undergone intensive rehabilitation.
“It was four months before my left arm came back, but I was walking again in just a over a month,” said Brawn, whose right arm remains bandaged.
More surgery followed. He went to the Mayo Clinic in April for a nerve graft from his right calf to his right arm. He continues to go to rehab every day.
“It’s challenging and even frustrating, but I don’t believe I ever had real depression,” Brawn said. “My flight doctor told me to look back, not forward. That way you appreciate where you’re at.”
Although he continues to rehab with the Navy, it is likely his military career is over. Brawn said he will probably never return to 100 percent physically.
“It is very likely my injuries will restrict me from continuing in the Marines,” Brawn said.
But flying is another story. He would like to return to the mid-valley and run his own flying service as a civilian. That could be more than a year away.
More surgery could be ahead, and he doesn’t expect normal movement in his right arm before late summer.
But he isn’t deterred. Whatever is ahead, he says he plans to take a positive approach.
“Things in life set you back but you take from it. I may have to change my priorities,” Brawn said. “Giving up is not an option. I plan to keep flying. I love it up there.”
But even as hours passed and he remained afloat in the Pacific Ocean miles from San Diego, it never occurred to Brawn that he would not survive.
“Honestly, not once did I think they wouldn’t find us, even though I knew the planes couldn’t see us. It was like looking down in a black hole for them,” he said .
Brawn, 33, is a Marine captain and fighter pilot from Albany.
He and his weapons officer, Paul Brand, were forced to eject from their F/A-18 Hornet before it crashed headlong into the Pacific around 10 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2011.
Night rescues are extremely tricky and improbable, but both men were found by the U.S. Coast Guard after that four-hour air and sea search.
Brawn’s father Dan said it took “a series of miracles” for the two to survive.
Flying a routine training mission over the Pacific, Brawn, a six-year fighter pilot, found himself fighting for control of the craft. He waited as long as he thought he could before he ejected himself and Brand from the jet.
“I tried to recover it, but there came a time that we had to get out,” Brawn said. “It was dark and I couldn’t see the ocean. I knew we were real low to the water.”
At 600 mph and 2,300 feet above the sea, Brawn executed the ejection, the force from which he described as incredible.
As soon as his head cleared the canopy, Brawn’s helmet and wristwatch were torn off.
“You are literally being shot out of a rocket. I was told it is the equivalent accelerating at 16 Gs of force per second,” Brawn said. “Your arms aren’t restrained. They were like twigs in a windstorm.”
The force shattered the humerus bones in both his arms, and he was knocked unconscious. When he awoke, he was in the water. As it was designed to do, his life jacket had inflated around his neck, keeping his head where he could breathe.
Brawn said he landed not far from Brand. They were floating amid jet fuel from the wreckage, which may have kept sharks away. The two men kept communicating during their long wait in the darkness.
“Yelling back and forth kept us alert and kept our spirits up,” Brawn said.
He admitted it was frustrating to see search planes overhead while knowing searchers couldn’t see the them in the water. Making matters worse was the fact Brawn’s arms were completely useless as a result of his injuries.
Searching near the crash site at about 2 a.m., rescuers on a Coast Guard vessel saw the two men.
“Paul still had his whistle and I think that got their attention. When they shined a light on me, I knew we would be all right,” Brawn said.
The rescue came from the air. Ships guided a Coast Guard helicopter, and it lowered a diver and a basket. First Brawn and then Brand were plucked from the 60-degree water.
A cold ride to the Naval base in San Diego followed.
“They treated us immediately for hypothermia,” Brawn said.
The men were rushed to Balboa Naval Medical Hospital and into emergency surgery. Along with the damage to his arms, Brawn also had a broken bone in his right leg.
Brawn said he didn’t remember, however, being in great pain.
“Maybe it was the shock. I do remember that I couldn’t move. That was a helpless feeling,” he said.
Luckily, there was no internal damage or bleeding.
The Marines notified Brawn’s family of the rescue. The call came to Brawn’s parents at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 13.
“I expected the worst. My heart was suspended,” said Pete’s father, Dan.
Brawn’s parents flew immediately to San Diego. Dan came in from Albany, and his mother, Carolyn, who was in Texas with a brother who was recuperating from heart bypass surgery at the time, came from there.
Carolyn had recently retired from the airline industry, and her former boss helped her and Dan book flights right away.
Mathew, Brawn’s brother, flew in from Brazil, where he was working at starting a business.
“My family has been incredible through all of this, and I have heard from all kinds of friends,” said Brawn, a 1996 graduate of West Albany High School. “I can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”
Brawn had been the top of his flight class wherever he trained and that was one of the reasons he lived through the ordeal according to his father.
“Every Marine I talked to said it was amazing they survived,” Dan Brawn said. “It was a series of miracles.”
His parents were by his side almost constantly for eight weeks.
“It was heart-wrenching,” said his father. “If Pete had waited a microsecond longer, he may not have made it.”
Brawn’s reaction was instinctive, like his flying skills. He had been flying since he was 16, when the bug to be airborne hit him while a student at West Albany. His dream was to fly Marine fighter planes.
He enlisted in October 2005 and was among the top pilots during his training. He had been stationed in San Diego for more than a year before the incident.
Naval surgeons had Brawn on the operating table for 12 hours during the first of eight surgeries. He then spent two weeks in intensive care. There was nerve damage to both arms, and he has a titanium rod in his leg. For the last nine months he has undergone intensive rehabilitation.
“It was four months before my left arm came back, but I was walking again in just a over a month,” said Brawn, whose right arm remains bandaged.
More surgery followed. He went to the Mayo Clinic in April for a nerve graft from his right calf to his right arm. He continues to go to rehab every day.
“It’s challenging and even frustrating, but I don’t believe I ever had real depression,” Brawn said. “My flight doctor told me to look back, not forward. That way you appreciate where you’re at.”
Although he continues to rehab with the Navy, it is likely his military career is over. Brawn said he will probably never return to 100 percent physically.
“It is very likely my injuries will restrict me from continuing in the Marines,” Brawn said.
But flying is another story. He would like to return to the mid-valley and run his own flying service as a civilian. That could be more than a year away.
More surgery could be ahead, and he doesn’t expect normal movement in his right arm before late summer.
But he isn’t deterred. Whatever is ahead, he says he plans to take a positive approach.
“Things in life set you back but you take from it. I may have to change my priorities,” Brawn said. “Giving up is not an option. I plan to keep flying. I love it up there.”
No comments:
Post a Comment