For more than 70 years, 6abc has been broadcasting programs to viewers in the Delaware Valley, an area covering Southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey, currently representing over 8 million people. Our flagship newscast is Action News - the Delaware Valley's leading news program, delivering news from channel 6 to the tristate area for more than 50 years.
From the time I was little,
my grandmom would look at me and say,
"Someday you're going to be jumping out
of helicopters."
I grew up watching it and wanting it so
bad. And then I look down, I'm like,
"Wow, very full circle."
My name is Connor Clashia and I am an
AS3 aviation survival technician, third
class here at Atlantic City Air Station.
spent all my summers in Ocean City and I
just had the benefit of growing up
watching the swimmers, watching the
pilots and had kind of always been
something that I thought I'd be
interested in. Remember, keep your head
inside.
>> Joined junior lifeguarding in Ocean City
when I was 8 years old and then when I
got old enough did eight years up here
lifeguarding, loved it and then became a
middle school teacher. um moved down to
Jacksonville, Florida, taught down there
and also did ocean rescue down there.
Going
>> to go up back.
>> Long story short, finally just said if I
never try, I'll regret it for the rest
of my life.
And once I decided to just go with this,
it was like I'd never been more sure of
something.
to get to this point from I would say
the very beginning of my training
probably four to five years as an AST
you are a helicopter rescue swimmer but
equally important we are maintaining all
of the rescue gear my most important
stuff here my fins my helmet situation
>> here at the station if it's a workday
you're doing maintenance you're doing
other things but when that alarm goes
off you're going up to the ops end
you're breathing briefing. What's going
on? Is it a medevac? Is it somebody in
the water? Is it a boat going down? And
then at that point, we're out to the
helicopter and wheels up heading to
wherever the case is.
So, this training mission was really
special to me because it involved Ocean
City Beach Patrol, which I spent 8 years
on as a lifeguard. Ready?
>> Really cool to give them that
experience, too, and get out there with
the guys that I actually worked with.
>> As swimmers, as a whole air crew, so
pilots, flight mechs, we put a lot of
work and a lot of training constantly
every day because in our job often times
when we're called out, it's because
we're the only ones who can get it done.
I hope that some kid out there sees us
flying by, sees us training, you know,
hopefully that kind of is the spark to
do this job cuz it is a great job. It's
a hard job and it's hard to get here,
but it is worth every drop of blood,
every drop of sweat that it took me to
get here.
>> Yeah, dude. You literally get to spend
your day in helicopters, jumping out of
helicopters, and saving lives, which I
don't think there's really a greater
call in life.
