Drone Heroism: Florida Teen Saved from Rip Current by Shark Fisherman
On a seemingly ordinary Thursday at Pensacola Beach in 2025, a quick-thinking shark fisherman named Andrew Smith transformed from angler to hero — all thanks to a drone, a bit of luck, and a lot of heart.
Smith hadn’t even planned to go fishing that day. “I wasn’t even going to go out and then my friend convinced me to go,” he said. But just ten minutes after arriving on the beach, a panicked teenage girl sprinted toward him, desperate for help. Her friend was being dragged out to sea by a rip current nearly 100 yards from shore.
Smith has a seizure disorder, which prevents him from swimming. Ironically, that very condition is why he uses a drone to set bait for sharks — and it’s also what made him the right person at the right time. “I looked down at the drone and I was like, ‘Well, the drone can swim but I can’t.’”
With no time to waste, Smith quickly attached a flotation device to his drone and sent it soaring over the waves. His first attempt failed miserably. “I released it too early, it was really windy. Like, it wasn’t close at all.” But help from a nearby bystander gave him a second chance. This time, he took it slow. “You had to go slower and slower down to her because that was it. That was the last opportunity we were going to have.”
It worked. “Until you could see her hands grab it, and then I lowered it a little more and I released it. Then she climbed on and started floating.” Minutes later, paramedics arrived. The teenager had spent about ten terrifying minutes trapped in the current. Thanks to Smith’s drone and timing, she made it home safely that night. Authorities later confirmed that without his intervention, she likely would not have survived.
What’s more remarkable is that the rescue happened in the only area Smith could legally fly his drone. Pensacola Beach is near Fort Pickens, where airspace is restricted. Had she drifted a bit farther down, Smith would have been powerless to help.
Now, Smith’s actions are prompting officials to consider using drones as regular lifeguard tools — reigniting the conversation around drone usage. Drones have earned a mixed reputation: disrupting emergency services, invading privacy, and even prompting Florida legislation that allows property owners to use “reasonable force” against them. But as this rescue shows, they can also save lives.
From firefighting to mountain rescues, drones are proving themselves in high-stakes scenarios. One case study even noted that a Scottish mountaineer’s life was saved because drones could reach altitudes near “the limits of human physiologic function.” “Without the use of the drone,” the report stated, “locating the climber and executing such an efficient rescue would have been unlikely.”
Technology always carries a double edge, and drones are no exception. But Andrew Smith’s heroic act reminds us that tools, even controversial ones, are only as good—or as bad—as the people using them. When placed in responsible hands and guided by quick thinking and compassion, even the hum of a drone can sound like a lifeline.
Source:
- https://youtu.be/g0m6OMFdV2s?si=eXptr_6cU4Zin1b0
- https://gizmodo.com/florida-fisherman-saves-drowning-teenager-with-a-drone-2000605593
- https://chatgpt.com/
- https://app.pictory.ai/
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