Ryan Austin ’18 was 22 years old when he helped save a man’s life. An avid aviator since earning his pilot’s license while at Parker, Ryan taught private pilot students how to fly planes during his time in the aviation program at Embry Riddle University. And in July 2022, the unthinkable happened.

While flight instructing at a tiny, municipal airport in north central Florida, Ryan and his students witnessed another small aircraft take off, only for the pilot’s voice to come over the radio moments later. The words “catastrophic engine failure” crackled across the frequency.

After the small plane failed to make the turn back to the runway, it dropped off the radar and disappeared somewhere over the wild, surrounding swampland. With no one else at the airport, no air traffic control tower, and no response from the pilot, Ryan leaped into action. “I realized at that point that if I didn’t do anything, no one was ever going to find this guy,” Ryan says.

Ryan contacted local law enforcement—who remained skeptical that a plane had crashed near the town without any other witnesses—and finally persuaded them to deploy the trauma helicopter to the area for a search and rescue mission. He also directed other small planes coming into the airport to start circling and see if they could spot the plane.

When Ryan saw the helicopter hover over the swamp, he knew the downed pilot had been found. “He would not have been found without the helicopter,” Ryan explains. “When the pilot went into the swamp, his wings broke the trees, and then they fell back on top of him,” making the crash difficult to spot.

The pilot was airlifted to the hospital and survived despite his intensive injuries. “I’m just happy I was able to help. That’s what any pilot or aviation professional would do—step up when it’s necessary and help each other out,” Ryan says, his actions a true reflection of his strength of character.

The incident did not turn Ryan off from flying—he now works as a commercial pilot for Frontier Airlines, where he keeps 200+ passengers safe during each cross-country flight.