 "In this image provided by Sky Decker Jr., authorities and volunteers respond to a Mexican Navy plane crash near Galveston, Texas, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP)")
After a Mexican naval medical plane crashed into Galveston Bay near the causeway, killing five people, local residents rushed in to assist.
Residents living near the crash site were among the first on the scene after the Beechcraft Super King Air 350—which was on a medical mission—went down in roughly five feet of water around 3:02 pm.
‘Really bad’ scene met with courage
When boat captain Sky Decker learnt that police did not have boats available immediately, he didn’t hesitate, according to Houston’s local news website, KHOU. He headed into the debris‑strewn bay to help with the search for survivors.
“When I arrived on the scene, it was really bad. I couldn’t imagine that there would be anybody alive,” Decker told reporters as he described the chaotic scene.
With waterlogged wreckage everywhere and only a thick fog overhead, Decker pushed through the twisted remains of the aircraft and found a woman still alive.
Watch the video here:
‘She was really fighting for life’
Decker said the survivor was breathing in a tiny pocket of air inside the submerged fuselage. “The woman was surviving by breathing on a pocket of air that was only about three inches from the ceiling of the plane,” he told CNN.
The Coast Guard confirmed that two survivors were taken to local hospitals for treatment, including the woman Decker pulled from the wreckage.
Officials say eight people were on board the flight, which was carrying two burn patients to a Galveston hospital on behalf of the Michou and Mau Foundation.
Mexican authorities reported that five people died, two survived, and one remains missing as search and rescue efforts continue.