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CAP Training Helps Rhode Island Couple Survive Watery Crash
A pair of experienced Rhode Island Wing members, 1st Lt. Alysia Larson and her husband, Capt. Paul Larson, were about a half-mile from Quonset State Airport in Kingston on March 30 when Lt. Larson added a bit of power to their 1961 Piper Comanche to counter 20-knot headwinds on her runway approach.
But instead of a surge, the aircraft’s engine lost power.
Alysia immediately began an engine checklist. She was about 75% done when she and her husband realized they wouldn’t reach the runway. Instead, the four-seater hit the choppy, frigid waters of 
Narragansett Bay 2,600 feet offshore, wheels down and poised to sink.
What had been a pleasant Saturday turned into a trial of survival.
“There was a moment where I was, like, ‘I’m not sure if we’re going to make it,’” she told a local television news crew, recounting the difficulties of swimming with heavy clothing in rough waters once the plane submerged completely.
“And then I’m, like, ‘Nope, we’re not going to die today. We’re going to make it. We’ll just keep swimming.’”
The West Bay Composite Squadron members. who both earned their private pilot certificates in 2021, did have a few things working in their favor.
Paul had the presence of mind to unlatch and open the plane’s only exit (on the passenger’s side) just before impact. They also were uninjured.
And both were seasoned swimmers who knew an earlier Mayday signal and subsequent 911 call from a still-functioning cellphone had been received.
“The 911 operator asked my location, and it was a bit comical. I was, like, ‘I’m in the bay,’” Alysia recalled. “They were like ‘What?!’ And I said, ‘We’re in the middle of the bay in a crashed aircraft. Send emergency services to the end of Runway 23 at Quonset.’"
They also had faith in the best outcome, in part because of the Civil Air Patrol aircrew survival course in Pennsylvania that Alysia had participated in.
The Larsons became involved in Civil Air Patrol as a family activity when they lived in Pennsylvania. After Paul learned from a friend about CAP, he and daughter Chara, then 14, and son Stephen, then 12, all joined Butler Composite Squadron 712.
Two years later, in 2020, twins Daniel and Jacob turned 12 and joined the squadron. That’s when Alysia decided to join CAP, too. Their oldest daughter, Juliana, now 23, was by then pursuing other interests.
Alysia took the aircrew survival course at CAP’s Hawk Mountain Ranger School during the summer of 2022. The program provides multiday field exercises to teach CAP members how to survive in the wilderness with minimal supplies or assistance.
The eight-day course included a module using a rudimentary-yet-realistic simulator to teach underwater egress from a drowned plane. The makeshift cockpit, which included headsets and seatbelts, is pushed into a pool and allowed to sink so students can practice emerging from under the water.
The family had by then relocated to New England after Paul, a family medicine physician, took a new job in 2021.
Paul serves as the West Bay squadron’s health services officer and provides monthly character development instruction for both the squadron and Pennsylvania Wing Group 2. Alysia is the education and training officer for the squadron and recently became the emergency services officer as well.
After the plane crash, the pair began swimming toward the runway, then changed course to closer land. They were picked up by a state Department of Environmental Management boat and treated dockside for mild hypothermia.
The next day the couple celebrated Easter with their five children as flowers, gifts, and uplifting messages began arriving from well-wishers.
“Easter is my all-time favorite holiday,” Alysia related one week after the crash. “I always love being surrounded by family, but it was even more significant this year.”
Both have been surprised at the widespread news coverage as well as the support they’ve received from CAP members across the country. The crash has made them even more appreciative of the aviation community — and even more committed to safety when flying CAP orientation flights and missions.
Despite things going about as well as they could during and immediately after the plane crash, Alysia told a TV news crew the couple regretted stowing the life vests in a baggage compartment.
Earlier that day, they’d traveled in separate planes to sightsee and stop for lunch in Chatham before dropping off Paul’s aircraft for routine maintenance at a Mansfield, Massachusetts, airfield. They’d stowed the vests to make more room in the cabin.
But that decision also rendered the emergency equipment useless during the open-water crisis.
Several days after that interview aired, Alysia went to a squadron meeting to thank everyone for their outpouring of support. One cadet actively earning his private pilot certificate came up to Alysia to let her know she’d made a difference.
“The first thing he said was, ‘Lt. Larson, I moved the life preservers to the back seat where they’re easy to reach. Anytime I fly now, I have a life preserver right there.’”
Another lesson learned was the importance of communication during highly stressful situations. The couple, married for 26 years, kept both their wits and each other’s spirits up.
“Alysia was encouraging me to continue swimming when I was getting a little slow and cold,” Paul recalled. “The fact that we were in this together played an important role.”
Alysia added: “It would have been different if we had injured ourselves and couldn’t swim. You don’t want to dwell on the what-ifs, but that’s a big what-if. Or what if we couldn’t have egressed like we did?”
The two said the experience reinforces the importance of checklists, risk management, and emergency preparedness — all of which kicked in during the crash sequence.
“Thanks to Paul, we’ve been reminded of the absolute importance of opening that door if you’re about to ditch,” Alysia said.
Both encourage fellow Civil Air Patrol members to continue to pursue knowledge and take advantage of all the opportunities the organization offers cadets and adult members alike. And to take all the CAP classes and training seriously.
“Events that you prefer not to happen do happen,” Paul said. “But you don’t want that kind of thing to derail you and prevent you from doing things that you enjoy.
“You do, however, want to make sure that you prepare for it as well.”
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Anne Saita
Contributing Writer