172 down near Wichita

[kmead]

A good friend and our main PA46 pilot crashed after take-off from a short private strip. It looks like he may have a broken neck and bad cuts on the head. Nobody really knows a lot yet but he will survive. It seems the 172 was slow to lift off and he attempted to get over some power lines possibly stalling the airplane. With the rain we have had I cant help but wonder if the strip was muddy.

He's one of the most talented pilots I know, flies over 600 hrs a year too. I hope he recovers quickly.

Kevin

 

[EppyGA]

A good friend and our main PA46 pilot crashed after take-off from a short private strip. It looks like he may have a broken neck and bad cuts on the head. Nobody really knows a lot yet but he will survive. It seems the 172 was slow to lift off and he attempted to get over some power lines possibly stalling the airplane. With the rain we have had I cant help but wonder if the strip was muddy.

He's one of the most talented pilots I know, flies over 600 hrs a year too. I hope he recovers quickly.

Kevin

Sorry to hear that Kevin. We'll certainly pray for a full and speedy recovery.

 

[wsuffa]

Likewise. Sorry to hear that.... and hope he recovers quickly.

 

[gismo]

Big bummer. Wishing for a speedy and complete recovery. Would be interesting to hear your friend's story before we speculate on what happened. Of course he might not want to talk about it on an open forum.

 

[ScottM]

A good friend and our main PA46 pilot crashed after take-off from a short private strip. It looks like he may have a broken neck and bad cuts on the head. Nobody really knows a lot yet but he will survive. It seems the 172 was slow to lift off and he attempted to get over some power lines possibly stalling the airplane. With the rain we have had I cant help but wonder if the strip was muddy.

He's one of the most talented pilots I know, flies over 600 hrs a year too. I hope he recovers quickly.

Kevin

That really sucks and I am sorry to hear of that. As a person who has also survived a cervical fracture, actually 22 of them, all is not lost. Just for the record I shattered C1 and C2. It was a long recovery, including learning to walk again, but it can happen. Spinal injuries are very funny, in a strange way. I had the same injury as Chris Reeve and look at the difference between the residuals between us. The next few weeks will help to tell what is going to happen.