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HomeNewsHero Pilot Threatened with Arrest for Conducting Helicopter Rescues in Flood-Stricken NC

Hero Pilot Threatened with Arrest for Conducting Helicopter Rescues in Flood-Stricken NC

Local authorities have threatened to arrest Jordan Seidhom, a former law enforcement officer turned volunteer pilot, as he embarks on critical rescue missions to aid families stranded by severe flooding in the North Carolina mountains.

Seidhom, a skilled pilot with nearly 1,400 flight hours and a background in law enforcement, became aware of a family in distress in Banner Elk, North Carolina, through social media on Saturday morning, according to Queen City News.

With supplies running low and urgent calls for help increasing, Seidhom and his son, Landon, a high school junior, decided to take action. They loaded their helicopter with bottled water and food and set out to assist.

“I thought, I have a helicopter, maybe I can help,” Seidhom told Queen City News Chief Investigator Jody Barr.

His efforts resulted in the rescue of multiple individuals, including two women who were running out of food and water, as well as a couple trapped on a dangerous mountainside.

“And there were two other ladies who were out of town. They were staying at an Airbnb. They only had one day of supplies, which was gone by Saturday. They didn’t have any food, water, no running water, no power. And we were coming back this direction anyway, so we actually took them to Charlotte-Douglas Airport and they were able to fly home from there.”

“Not anybody who was in danger or they were just trapped. No food, no water, no access to power and water. We were going to lift them from the area, nice landing spots and take them back down to civilization.”

The situation took a turn when Seidhom returned to the Lake Lure area for more rescues the following day.

“I spoke with my son, which is my copilot. I said, ‘Hey do you want to go back out and try to help today?’ And his response was, ‘There’s so many messages. I don’t think we can’t not go help,’” Seidhom told QC News.

Queen City News further reported:

They set out once more in their black Robinson 44 helicopter, navigating the mountain gap in Lake Lure.

“As we were flying by, my son actually spotted a lady waving for help. And I asked him, I said, ‘Hey, is she waving for help or she just waving?’ He said, ‘No, I think she’s waving for help.’”

After carefully scouting the area for power lines and obstacles, they landed on the remains of the couple’s driveway, eroded by floodwaters.

Seidhom’s video shows him approaching the couple and returning with a plan. “Hey, I want you to let me get in, you step out and go out, help her in, put her bag in the back, get her strapped in. I’m going to take her down, come back and I’ll take him, I’ll come back and then I’ll get you, okay?” he instructed his son.

Concerned about the weight on the unstable driveway, Seidhom flew the woman to safety while his son and the husband waited.

After landing to coordinate with emergency personnel, a fire official confronted Seidhom and abruptly stopped the operation.

“Once we landed where emergency personnel were, I was met by a fire chief or maybe a captain, and he asked me who I was. I told him who I was, who I was with, just a local volunteer,” Seidhom said.

“I told him my background experience, law enforcement, firefighting, and pilot and he immediately started helping with coordination. He gave me radio frequencies to coordinate with them on, set up a landing area for me to come back with the other victim, and just basically started the rescue efforts; the policies and procedures that you would take coordinating with someone from an outside source or outside agency. And in the middle of the whole conversation and them blocking the road off, I was greeted by the – at that time I didn’t know – but the Lake Lure fire chief, or assistant chief, maybe. And he shut down the whole operation.”

The fire official accused Seidhom of not properly coordinating with local authorities. Seidhom explained that he had been in communication with emergency responders during his prior rescues.

“He originally asked me who I was. I gave him the same information, who I was with, my background experience, law enforcement, and firefighting. And his response was, if you have that kind of experience, you should know that you should be coordinating with us. And I said, I’ve been coordinating with everybody as I’ve been here just the day before, speaking with local law enforcement, other rescue personnel,” Seidhom added.

Despite explaining that he needed to retrieve his son and the remaining victim from the mountain, the fire official refused to let him continue.

“I’m going back and getting my copilot. ‘If you turn around and go back up the mountain, you’re going to be arrested.’ I said, ‘Well, sir, I’m going back to get my copilot, I don’t know what to tell you.’”

Seidhom then asked law enforcement officers if he would be arrested for attempting to complete the rescue.

“At that point, I had to make a decision. I have a victim, I have my son, and I politely asked the officers, told him the situation again, explained everything, told them who I’d been coordinating with, and I said, ‘Hey if I go back up and get this victim and bring him down to this landing spot that other emergency personnel have designated, am I going to be arrested? And the officers’ response was, ‘Man, I really don’t know what to do in this situation.’ I said, ‘So you can’t tell me if I’m going to get arrested or not?’ And he said, ‘Man, I’ve I’m not sure what to do.’”

When Seidhom asked why he was being told to stop, the fire official stated, “You’re interfering with my operation.”

Within 30 minutes of the confrontation, a Temporary Flight Restriction was imposed over the Lake Lure gap, the exact area where Seidhom had been conducting his rescue missions.

Initially, Seidhom believed the fire official was from Michigan, but later verified through the town’s website that the official was with the Lake Lure Fire Department.

Source: The Gateway Pundit

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