A Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputy on vacation in Wisconsin was behind the audio recording of a dramatic emergency airplane landing April 2 that has since made national headlines.
Jeff Perlewitz, who is described by his wife as a “radio nut,” was listening to his Uniband portable scanner while checking his email at his Sturgeon Bay rental home when Door County Sheriff’s dispatchers were notified about a private airplane that had declared an emergency.
Knowing the nearby, small Door County Cherryland Airport probably broadcast air-to-ground general aviation traffic over the Unicom radio system, Perlewitz scanned the frequencies for the proper channel.
Pilot John Collins, 81, suffered a fatal heart attack while flying his twin-engine Cessna aircraft about six miles south of Sturgeon Bay. His wife, Helen Collins, was forced to take the controls of the plane with almost no flying experience.
“It captivated him that this was occurring here in this little area and this 80-year-old woman had to land the plane,” Heidi Perlewitz said.
Perlewitz has been playing around with radios since he was a child. He was raised in Sturgeon Bay, where his parents and sister still live.
Perlewitz moved to California in 1993 and joined the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office three years later. He is a bailiff at the Tuolumne County Superior Court.
“Jeff brings his radio everywhere we go because he likes listening to the local traffic,” said Heidi Perlewitz, whose family owns a two-way radio shop in Columbia.
After listening to the emergency landing unfold for about 15 minutes, Perlewitz decided he should record the incident because the small Wisconsin airport likely didn’t have recording equipment available.
Perlewitz ran upstairs and grabbed a digital camera, which he turned onto the video recording setting and placed it near the radio as the drama unfolded.
“The woman is 80 years old but she never once … got excited,” he said, describing the calm demeanor of Helen Collins that garnered his admiration.
A certified pilot was placed in a second plane that was sent up to guide Collins on the proper handling and landing of the plane, the Door County Sheriff’s Office said.
Rescue personnel were notified about 6:05 p.m. by Collins that her right engine had lost power due to being out of fuel and she needed to land immediately.
The final approach was made with instruction from the pilot in the second aircraft. Collins was able to land, the Door County Sheriff’s Office said in a written statement.
Collins was slightly injured upon landing and transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Her husband was also transported but was pronounced dead as a result of the heart attack.
Perlewitz said he immediately contacted the airport and Sheriff’s Office to provide them with a copy of his recording.
The recording itself has since made national news and the Tuolumne County couple have been interviewed by multiple Wisconsin-based newspapers and TV stations.
Perlewitz and his wife were scheduled to return to Tuolumne County on Easter Sunday. He said that, someday, he would like to contact the calm and brave 80-year-old woman who captivated his imagination April 2.
“We’ll be back here (in Sturgeon Bay) in the fall and I would like to at least talk to her on the phone to tell her how much I thought of her,” he said.
