Althouse: "When I answered the door, there was a bloody girl. She said mom and dad are dead, we had a plane crash, and the plane is upside down."

January 3, 2015

"When I answered the door, there was a bloody girl. She said mom and dad are dead, we had a plane crash, and the plane is upside down."

"She thought her arm was broken. She was barefooted, she had one sock.... They seemed surprised when I said I had a 7-year-old girl here who said she was in a plane crash... I just pray for her. She's gonna need a lot of help. I just can't imagine someone that young going through that...."

ADDED: The girl — Sailor Gutzler — "walked almost a mile (1.6km) through a dark, dense wood in temperatures of about 40F (4C)" at night to reach the house. The man she found there said: "I don't walk in that wood during the day time... It's a mess."

12 comments:

Michael K said...: She was luckier than the girl who survived the crash in the California Sierras years ago. She lived in the crashed plane for months keeping a diary that the searchers finally found. She had died.; 1/3/15, 9:32 AM
Big Mike said...: The question asked by the sheriff at the end of Michael K's sad article is a good one. Instead of just waiting for rescue there are things one can do to help facilitate rescue.; 1/3/15, 9:54 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Michael K

I think there are more stories of people who leave the site of the wreck and die than of those who stay with the wreck and wait for help.

I feel I've read a number of stories where one person stays and one goes for help and the one that goes dies.

You're so much more conspicuous with the wreck (and you have some shelter).

If you can see a house, it's different. I can't tell from this story whether the 7-year-old girl saw the house and walked directly toward it or whether she went wandering in the woods and got lucky.; 1/3/15, 9:57 AM
Ann Althouse said...: (I've watched many episodes of "I Shouldn't Be Alive."); 1/3/15, 9:58 AM
Michael K said...: "whether she went wandering in the woods and got lucky."

She probably saw a light. It sounds like the location is pretty isolated.

Ted Kennedy saw a light and avoided it in Chapaquiddick.; 1/3/15, 10:00 AM
Dr.D said...: That's going to leave an (emotional) mark! Sad story for sure.; 1/3/15, 10:02 AM
William said...: On the bright side, she didn't have to cut off her arm to free herself from the wreckage, nor did she have to eat the bodies of her parents to make it through the winter. Nonetheless, one can safely say that she has had the worst New Year of any human being alive today on the face of the earth. Well, things are bound to get better in the coming year.; 1/3/15, 10:59 AM
David said...: What a sweet man. The girl came to the right house.; 1/3/15, 11:37 AM
CatherineM said...: I have watched many "I Survived," myself and tons of seconds from disaster/air emergency shows as though I could learn something. I always count the seats to the exit doors on planes.

I wonder what happened to the plane. Poor kid; 1/3/15, 11:57 AM
A10pilot said...: Having been in a plane crash myself (Piper Cherokee, at night, on extended base-to-final for Little Rock Municipal AP in Arkansas--engine quit and we didn't have enough time/altitude to restart), it's amazing what goes through your mind or, rather, how MUCH goes through your mind in seconds that seem like hours.
We were lucky...went into a young pine forest where the trees mostly arrested our forward momentum and cushioned the final drop to the forest floor so no serious injuries. IF you're anywhere near civilization, you will probably leave the scene to get help. We did, and ran into a State Trooper...wearing reflective shades at 11:30 PM...who came looking for us since we glided right over his HQ and by the dispatcher's office window. We chose our egress direction by walking into a clearing that turned out to be a high-power transmission line route and guessed correctly as to which way to go.
If you're flying over sparsely populated areas, if you haven't checked your ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) equipment, you're an idiot. If you go down, you probably should stay put. However, you should have a basic survival kit on board (first aid, blankets, a little food, water (or water purifier), fire starting supplies, signaling gear and, if you can afford it, both a hand-held VHF transmitter and personal rescue GPS device). A weapon wouldn't hurt either, with dual-use ammo (say a revolver with both birdshot and conventional rounds for hunting and defense against predators, respectively). Over-prepared? Well, if it's me against Nature, a fair fight is the last thing I want. FWIW, Alaska has its own separate FAA rules for aircraft equipment requirements. The AK VFR Supplement lists the required items. In any case, crashing sucks. Trust me on this.; 1/3/15, 8:15 PM
GRW3 said...: The number one killer of pilots and planes is continued flight into adverse weather conditions. Often driven by "get home-ittis". It's winter, it's close to the end of a holiday. Sounds like this played out the likely scenario. I hated flying at night, there was just no margin for error and no good choices in an emergency.; 1/3/15, 10:05 PM
Robert Cook said...: "...one can safely say that she has had the worst New Year of any human being alive today on the face of the earth."

Her New Year was truly awful, but I feel safe in saying there are many who had worse.; 1/4/15, 10:49 AM