Pilots rescue stranded in Fremont from floodwaters

A view from up in the air with pilot Adam Liston behind the controls, but it’s not a Sunday stroll in the skies — it’s a rescue.

"I thought, you know what, I have my time. I have an airplane. I can go help out,” he said.

He said he had planned to spend his weekend away from the cockpit of a Delta Airlines 747 on the ground until heavy waters flooded Fremont.

"I felt helpless because Fremont is an island, so I offered my services as a pilot,” Liston said.

He rented a passenger plane from Millard Airport and took off from the tarmac at 8 a.m. Sunday. He made round trips to Wahoo and Fremont, and back, more than a dozen times.

"Every plane was full with either people or supplies or both," he said.

Each trip saving friends and neighbors who weren't lucky enough to make it out like his family did.

"My wife, by herself, sirens going off at 2 a.m.," Liston said. "She evacuated both of our two kids under four. It was kind of freaky because I wasn't there."

Bringing many to dry land and helping feed and clothe even more.

But he's not the only one in on the air support.

"Flying in and out of Millard all day. Flying in supplies, flying people out. Just one of many of the pilots who were out here doing the same thing,” said volunteer, Fred Marez.

Planes lined the runway at Millard, powered by pilots looking to offer aid during this state of emergency.

"They just felt empowerment to help their community out," Liston said.

"We take care of our own," Marez said.

Boots on the ground and saviors in the skies means many are no longer stranded.

Liston was able to fit three passengers from Fremont in his plane for each trip, and said he plans to make more rescue flights on Monday.