A 7-year-old girl who
survived a plane crash and then trekked nearly a mile through dense
woods to get help held out hope that her parents, sister and cousin
might somehow have survived, too, police said.
"She indicated to us that she believed her family was deceased but
that she hoped they were just sleeping," Kentucky State Police Lt. Brent
White said Sunday. "I was literally just struck by how calm she was
able to be and the ability for her to give us this information."
Sailor Gutzler suffered a broken bone in her wrist in the crash,
White said. The girl tried lighting a glow or torch stick to help
illuminate her way out of the dense woods where the plane crashed, but
the stick failed to light, he said.
White said the girl freed herself from the aircraft and walked about 15 to 20 minutes toward a light coming from the home of
Larry Wilkins, who called 911 when she arrived.
"She navigated thick trees, briars, and bushes to get to the home," White said.
White added that the girl "was dressed for Florida," wearing shorts
and a short-sleeved shirt despite the temperature being 38 degrees. The
family was headed to their hometown of Nashville, Illinois, from a
vacation in Florida at the time.
"She didn't have very much clothing on at all," White said.
NTSB investigator Heidi Moats said investigators will need to interview the girl to determine what happened.
"We are going to try and make contact her," Moats said. "We are going
to talk to her family first, and then try and make contact with her
soon."
Moats said she spent several hours at the crash site but offered no details as to what may have caused the
small plane to crash late Friday in Kuttawa, Kentucky.
After investigators studied the wreckage of the Piper PA-34 where it
crashed in the woods, the remains of the plane were moved Sunday to a
location where it can be inspected in greater detail.
The agency will issue a preliminary report in about 10 days, Moats said.
Gutzler's parents, Marty Gutzler, 48, and his wife Kimberly Gutzler,
46; her sister, Piper Gutzler, 9; and, her cousin, Sierra Wilder, 14,
were all killed in the crash.
It's unclear what caused the crash, but Marty Gutzler reported engine
problems before losing contact with air traffic controllers.
A family friend described him as a very meticulous and knowledgeable pilot.
Federal Aviation Administration records show that Gutzler was a certified flight instructor.
Fred Prug, another family friend, echoed similar sentiments.
"He loved flying," Prug said. "You didn't have a conversation with Marty without him talking about flying."
The family friend said Gutzler flew the family a few times each year.
The Gutzlers owned a furniture
store in Nashville, and Marty Gutzler often offered customers flights,
said the family friend. He described them as a tight knit group.
Editor's
Note: A previous version of this story stated that the NTSB had spoken
with the surviving 7-year-old girl. The NTSB has not yet spoken to her.
We regret the error.
ABC News' Gio Benitez and Troy McMullen contributed to this article.
Girl, 7, Survives Plane Crash in Kentucky That Killed Her Parents, Sister, Cousin
A 7-year-old girl walked nearly a mile as she looked for help after a
surviving a plane crash that killed her parents, sister, and cousin.
Disoriented and barefoot, the girl walked roughly a quarter of a mile
through the remote wooded area in southwestern Kentucky to the home of
Larry Wilkins.
"I didn't know the plane was down until she came knocking on the door,"
said Wilkins, who quickly called 911 after the girl arrived.
"They seemed surprised when I said I had a 7-year-old girl here who said she was in a plane crash," he said.
It's unclear what caused the Piper PA-34-200T, which the girl's father
Marty Gutzler was piloting, to crash, but the FAA reports air traffic
controllers received a distress call reporting engine failure before
they lost contact with the plane.
Kentucky State Police identified the victims as Marty and Kimberly
Gutzler, their 9-year-old daughter Piper, and her 14-year-old cousin
Sierra Wilder. The family was leaving Florida for their home in
Nashville, Illinois.
"We are devastated by this loss, but are confident that they rest in God's loving arms," a family spokesman said in a statement.
ABC News
PHOTO: A plane crash in Kuttawa, Kentucky, killed four people on on Jan. 2, 2015.
The girl was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. She was later released, according to The Associated Press.
Wilkins called her brave, adding that he would pray for her.
"She's gonna need a lot of help," he said. "I just can't imagine someone
that young going through that, especially to witness it - to witness
her parents dying. It's amazing, that she held up as good as she did."
https://gma.yahoo.com/ntsb-arrives-investigate-kentucky-plane-crash-killed-4-134726864--abc-news-topstories.html
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