Utah County pilots perform unique
Christmas Eve rescue
By Jed Boal, KSL-TV |
Posted - Dec. 26, 2021 at 12:30 p.m.
Mike and Mark Patey flew to California to pick up a couple
and bring them home in time for Christmas.
SPANISH FORK — On Christmas Eve, as a couple thousand
flights were canceled across the country, many eager holiday travelers
discovered they would not make it home for Christmas. Realizing this predicament
for so many passengers, a couple of pilots in Utah County used their skills to
help in an unexpected way.
The Patey brothers live to fly. When they took off from
Utah Friday afternoon, they were delivering an extraordinary gift to a young
couple they didn't even know.
"If Christmas isn't about reuniting families, then
I don't know what it is," Mark Patey said.
Mike and Mark Patey fly search and rescue missions for
Utah County. They've done that for 15 years, and have even built a plane
specially designed for rescue missions.
"It's been our greatest reward in life: reuniting
families that were lost in the mountains, or on a cliff, and bringing them back
home," Mike Patey said. "So, reuniting families is something that
we've had a passion for forever."
The twin brothers put their passion into action
Christmas Eve. They posted on social media that they were ready and able to fly
families out of Utah, or fly people back to Utah in their private passenger
plane.
"We were waiting at the airport for something to
come together. We were search and rescue ready," Mark said.
At the same time, Brecca and Sergio Ponce were at Los
Angeles International Airport, where their flight back to Utah had just been
canceled.
"We were kind of stranded at LAX," Brecca
said.
The couple was traveling and celebrating their
anniversary, and excited about being home with family in Utah for Christmas.
They haven't done that for three years and had given up on making it home when
a friend shared the post from the pilots.
Mike and Mark Patey flew to California to pick up a couple and
bring them home in time for Christmas. (Photo: Family photo)
At first, they didn't believe it was real. So, Brecca
reached out to Mike.
"They responded within three minutes, and said,
'Hey, we can probably make that work and come get you,'" she said.
"We just jumped in the plane, I mean, we had this
engine fired up and running in about 10 minutes, knowing that we had someone to
go get," Mark said.
Within a few hours, they were picking up their
passengers and bringing them back to Utah.
"I just couldn't believe it," Sergio said.
"The whole time we were flying from LA to Utah in their plane, I just
couldn't believe it."
They had resigned themselves to missing out on Christmas
at home. Instead, they were flying home like VIPs.
"It was probably the coolest thing that's happened
to us. We keep calling it a Christmas miracle," Brecca said.
"If you have the opportunity to help, you help.
And, when you're in need, you can trust that there are good people out there
that will take care of you," Mark said.
It's something their parents instilled in them as kids.
"If you've been blessed with a talent, or a gift or
resources, you better give it back, or you don't you don't deserve to have it
anymore," said Mike.
Brecca and Sergio said it was like a dream — they can
hardly believe that it actually happened.
The Pateys are simply grateful to help out with a
Christmas miracle.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Travis Foster
Received from a friend: Subject: An hour of POW Stories
At the recent Tailhook 2023 get together in Reno Nevada there was a forum that brought together four former Vietnam POWs. It was recorded and I have permission to provide the link below. I personally know three of them and flew with two of them off the USS Midway in 1972 when they were shot down. This should be required viewing for all those that go in harm’s way for their country. BZ Gentleman and welcome Home
Thanks to Chaser, our Tailhook Boss
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