Crash in Taylor, TX

Lowflynjack

Lowflynjack

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Jack Fleetwood
We had a crash on Saturday just South of the airport. It's amazing how the media, in their rush to be first, will report anything.

In most of the news stories, the plane was a Cessna.
In some stories, it was a father and son.
In some stories, it was a father and his 8 year old daughter.
In some stories, they were slightly injured and both walked away.
In one story today, the pilot's name is Horn Buckle.

The truth...
It was a Beech Musketeer.
It was a father and his 7 year old daughter.
She is in the hospital with cuts and bruises. He has burns over 60% of his body.
His name is Todd Hornbuckle, based out of Corpus Christie.

Hopefully he will be okay, but he'll have a long way to go with treatment.
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Speedy recovery :(


And you're right, WTF! I get better "news" from some internet message board than the "news stations". Reason number 4921 I don't pay for cable.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Any word on cause?
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Only a news station saying they ran out of fuel. Not sure how anyone would determine that. It went up in flames on impact and burned like it had a lot of fuel. He was on a straight-in approach.

My friend took this photo. I know in emergencies you don't have long to think. Looks like he cleared the big powerlines and dropped it in. Sad that there are fields before and to the right of the trees. The big road is Hwy 79, the airport is just on the other side of the highway.
 

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Glad they made it through relatively unscathed. The plane is going to need a little work though.
 
So relieved to hear he saved his baby girl. Hope he recovers well.
 
Hopefully,both he and the daughter have a full recovery.
 
wow, hope the two end up recovering 100% soon!

odd that it would have ran out of fuel if it burned up that much.
 
If you look at the first photo, straight about the panel, you can see Ercot, which is a building over halfway down the runway. As someone that's been in a crash, I understand being that close to an airport and realizing there is nothing you can do to get there. I didn't panic, but at some point you realize you're out of options. He had large powerlines to clear and may have lost any glide he had doing that.

The red arrow is where he crashed. The red line is the tall powerlines. Had he gone further, he could have hit the railroad tracks, the highway, the lower powerlines, or ended up in the creek at the end of the runway. Lot's of obstacles to deal with.

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Dang, I sure hope they both recover fully and quickly.

I agree that landing on 35, one has zero options when the fan stops turning on short final. 17, OTOH, has open fields.

Best wishes to both involved and hoping for full recovery.
 
60% burns isn't the kiss of death for an otherwise healthy middle aged male, but survival is not assured. He has a long road ahead of him. And there are things worse than death. A rough formula of age + the percentage of body burned = rough percent likelihood of death. Its not absolute.. but gives you an idea the odds he is facing.
 
Doggtyred said:
60% burns isn't the kiss of death for an otherwise healthy middle aged male, but survival is not assured. He has a long road ahead of him. And there are things worse than death. A rough formula of age + the percentage of body burned = rough percent likelihood of death. Its not absolute.. but gives you an idea the odds he is facing.
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so if he's 40 years old and 60% burned, that's 100% chance of not making it?
 
midcap said:
so if he's 40 years old and 60% burned, that's 100% chance of not making it?
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That is a rough estimation. But yea... Its a sobering number. Which is why when I had an elderly patient in the burn ICU with only a 5% or 10% 3rd degree burn, its still life threatening to them.

Inhalation burns alter those odds. Being unhealthy beforehand (diabetic, heart disease, respiratory disease) alter those odds. Being a tip top healthy guy with excellent cardiovascular reserve tips the scale in your favor.
 
I'd take 60% burns if it meant getting my daughter out with only scratches. I will assume the 7yr old would need assistance to exit a plane. Both of my kids do. This guy likely was ready to lose his life for his kid. I hope he recovers. His daughter likely has a super hero for a dad.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I'd take 60% burns if it meant getting my daughter out with only scratches. I will assume the 7yr old would need assistance to exit a plane. Both of my kids do. This guy likely was ready to lose his life for his kid. I hope he recovers. His daughter likely has a super hero for a dad.
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Yep you are right about that. It's one of the reasons I want two doors in a plane.
 
Todd has extended family and friends down here in the Rio Grande Valley. I heard of this horrible accident through them and a GoFundMe page has been created that gives an accurate account of the crash and how he did what any of us fathers and mothers would do, sacrifice our body to protect and save our most cherished. Please give if you are able...

https://www.gofundme.com/2syvgsb8
 
Very sad story, Hope he recovers from his burns, glad the little girl got out with just scrapes and bruises.

The fuel selector on my Beech has Left-Right and Off. Hope he didn't run one tank dry, with lots of fuel in the other side.
 
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