Teen pilot on solo crashes, text messages his way to rescue

This really goes to show you how messed up our priorities are in this day in age. After an 18 year old student pilot crashed his aircraft into the snowy side of a Montana mountain, he was able to alert authorities by sending a text message from his unscathed cell phone. Hiking through the snow with near zero temperatures in shorts and tennis shoes Andrew Scheffer was able to reach a point with decent cell reception and sent out the following text message, "I've crashed and I am alive". That really helps rescuers. He then proceeds to make a PHONE CALL in which he says, "I'm with the aircraft, I'm cold and I have a sore shoulder," according to Dan Hargrove, the Director of Aviation for Rocky Mountain College. Scheffer was rescued and released from the hospital yesterday.

But here's a thought, how about calling the authorities, with an actual phone call, to tell them where you are instead of a texting them with no useful information. Also, shorts and tennis shoes? Don't they teach anything about cold weather flying and appropriate clothing there at the Rocky Mountain College?

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