Bucs QB Blaine Gabbert and His Jet Ski Rescued 4 People From Florida Helicopter Crash

by Larry Leo

December 30, 20223 Comments

Let's see if Tom Brady could do this. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Blaine Gabbert jumped on his jet ski and helped rescue a group that was in a helicopter crash down in Florida this week...

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Floating in open water after the helicopter he and his parents had taken a tour on made an emergency landing into the water off Davis Islands on Thursday evening, Hunter Hupp had no idea who the three men were who quickly approached on two jet skis as he treaded water.

Hupp, 28, had spent the previous hour on a flight out to the beaches and back as a Christmas gift, but he and the helicopter's other passengers heard a loud noise in the rotor above and had to land in the water, about 200 yards from shore.

Hupp's parents, Wes and Lisa, made it out of the helicopter as it took on water, as had the pilot, but Hupp was the last one out, unable to free himself for about a minute before getting out and to the surface. The four of them floated together, only inches of the helicopter showing above the water, contemplating whether to wait for help or try to swim to land while fully clothed, then almost immediately saw two men on jet skis approaching.

One of them, as confirmed by a source close to the team, was Tampa Bay Bucs backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who lives on Davis Island and was part of the rescue effort. Hupp said they helped his father up on one jet ski and he and his mother on the other, stayed with them and coordinated how to bring back more people than the jet skis were meant to carry.