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First responders hailed the Gelinnes for their quick thinking and likely life-saving actions in getting to the pilot quickly and pulling him partially out of the freezing water. Anne Arundel County Fire Department Lt. Jennifer Macallair called their efforts \"heroic.\"

Though Gelinne Sr. told WMAR he doesn't see it that way.

\"I look at it just as someone who saw something that needed to do something,\" he said.

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