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Pheley — see a little more. “I’m not surprised that<br />
Rick thought quickly and clearly and responded to the<br />
situation like he did,” he said. “Not everybody could<br />
do that. One of those people in the water could have<br />
been injured, and getting to them so fast was critical.<br />
I’ve watched him in CAP and hold him in very high<br />
regard. Safety is always No. 1 with him.”<br />
Pheley first met Sass when he took diving lessons<br />
from him. “He continually reinforced to us as dive<br />
students the importance of being aware of others and<br />
what to do to help them if needed,” Pheley said.<br />
Sass started diving in college and never stopped. “I<br />
got involved in diving in the many lakes in my area,<br />
including the Great Lakes,” he said. “We’ve got some<br />
of the best shipwreck diving in the world here.”<br />
Diving isn’t all fun and games for Sass, though.<br />
“I do a lot of rescue training, and I’ve worked<br />
on a couple of rescue teams,” he said. “I have done<br />
a few body recoveries, and that can be scary stuff in<br />
dark lakes.”<br />
His rescue diving work and his skills as a pilot made<br />
Civil Air Patrol a good fit, so when Sass was<br />
introduced to the program, joining was an easy choice.<br />
“A pilot friend of mine was a CAP member but had to<br />
leave it due to work restrictions. He literally handed<br />
me his uniform and said, ‘You’d like these guys.’ So I<br />
went to a meeting, and he was right,” Sass said. “I<br />
realized what a great group of people they are and<br />
decided I wanted to be a part of it.”<br />
The cause of the crash in Bonaire was the loss of<br />
one of the plane’s two engines. Nine of the 10 people<br />
in the plane survived, basically unharmed. They said<br />
the pilot bumped his head and was unconscious, and<br />
they couldn’t get him out before the plane filled up<br />
with water.<br />
“Floating in the water, I found the emergency singleengine<br />
landing procedures check list,” Sass said. “It was<br />
probably the last thing the pilot was reading. The event<br />
really reaffirmed everything I’ve ever learned as a pilot,<br />
in CAP and in diving: Always be prepared.” ▲<br />
Civil Air Patrol Volunteer 38 April-June 2010
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