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Grant Schultz was helping battle one of several bushfires burning across the state on Wednesday when a routine water collection at a dam in the Scenic Rim region, west of Brisbane, went terribly wrong.
The aircraft crashed into the water and rolled upside down, meaning when the experienced pilot undid his seatbelt he fell down to the roof of the cockpit.
As the air started to run out, the experienced pilot took one last breath and set out to find an escape.
He tried to open three doors but each was jammed shut.
“I had one door left,” he recalled on Thursday.
“I started to have the realisation that it was my last chance.”
A feeling of fear started to set in as he swam for the last door and tried to get it open.
“I pulled on it until I could get it open enough and slid out,” he said.
Relief started to set in as he swam upwards and took a breath.
“It was kind of surreal, a bit,” he said.
“Like I’m in the middle of a dam, the tail of the helicopter was just out and I was kind of just leaning on the tail of the helicopter in the dam, looking around.”
Schultz was transported reluctantly by helicopter to hospital on Wednesday night before he made it home to see his family.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the crash.
Schultz considers himself extremely lucky after escaping with just a few scratches and an incredible story to tell.
“Ultimately I think the training probably saved my life,” the pilot said.
