Blackhawk touches down in field
Having a U.S. Customs Blackhawk helicopter set down in a field next to your house is bound to turn heads, as local residents Ralph Earl and Rebecca Gross found out Monday afternoon when the couples’ nephew, Jeff Northcutt, a customs officer and pilot, made an impromptu landing to pay them a visit.
Northcutt and co-pilot Roger Pierce were en route to the nation’s capitol to help with air patrols for today’s anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We’re taking this helicopter from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona back to Washington D.C. for 9/11 for the protection of the air space around the capitol,” said Northcutt.
And what do the pilots do when they aren’t helping keep the skies safe over the capitol?
“We usually chase drug smugglers around the border in southwestern Arizona,” Northcutt said, “Airplanes and trucks and people on the ground.”
Northcutt’s grandfather, John L. Northcutt, Sr. and his father John L. Northcutt, Jr., were Warren County natives. Northcutt’s father joined the military and subsequently moved away, but the younger Northcutt obviously has strong family ties here.
“I’ve never lived here,” he said, “but this is what we call the old home place.”
Northcutt has been piloting helicopters since 1990, spending five years flying tours over the Grand Canyon, eventually taking a job with U.S. Customs in 1995.
His aunt Rebecca was clearly pleased the dashing flyer decided to drop out of the sky to see his Warren County folks.
“Oh, I think it’s neat,” she said. “We were glad they did.”
Several other relatives were there to greet the pilots, including uncles E.H. Barker and Denton Gross, as well as another aunt and uncle, Clifton and Mildred O’Neal, who also found the visit an exciting change of pace.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Mildred said. “We’re just glad they dropped in.”
The sight of the large black helicopter sitting in the middle of a field next to their house turned more than a few of their neighbors heads though, generating some humorous comments.
“One of my neighbors asked, ‘Are you in trouble?'” Rebecca said with a chuckle.
Not unless you call a visit from a loving nephew trouble, and it’s pretty clear that as far as Rebecca Gross is concerned, that’s no trouble at all.