Seven-year-old walks away from plane crash that kills parents

January 5, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under News, Source - Kaieteur News

A seven-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 have 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. “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, the crash survivor, suffered a broken bone in her wrist in the crash, White said. Sailor was alert and able to point emergency workers looking for the plane in the right direction, said Lyon County Judge executive Wade White, who arrived at the crash site.

White said the father’s body was “the last one they pulled out because of how deep he was buried.”

After the crash, 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.

“She told me that her mom and dad were dead, and she had been in a plane crash, and the plane was upside down,” Wilkins said.

White added that the girl “was dressed for Florida,” wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt despite the temperature being close to freezing at 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 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.

Marty Gutzler was flying the plane, which reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers around 5:55 p.m. CST, authorities said. Controllers tried to direct the pilot to an airport about seven miles from the crash scene.

About 40 minutes later, 911 dispatchers received the call from Wilkins.
Marty Gutzler was a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor, according to the FAA website.
A family friend described him as a very meticulous and knowledgeable pilot. Federal Aviation Administration records show that Gutzler was a certified flight instructor.

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.

Sailor Gutzler, the girl who survived a plane crash, helped authorities locate the wreckage and remains of her family. She may not be done helping investigators.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Heidi Moats said Sunday that Sailor is “one remarkable young lady,” and she might be able to assist them in determining what brought the plane down. It is rare for someone to survive a small plane crash and Moats said they want to talk to Sailor about it.

“Having someone that is a witness (is) always helpful in the investigation, it gives us kind of a story line,” Moats said.

It’s not clear when investigators might talk to Sailor, who despite being bloodied and suffering a broken wrist, pulled herself from the wreckage and walked to the nearest home.

“She absolutely went to the nearest house that she could have,” Kentucky State Police Lt. Brent White said. “But it was still a considerable feat for her to do that.”

The remains of the Piper PA-34 plane were moved yesterday so officials with the NTSB can inspect it. They haven’t discussed any possibilities of what brought the plane down or how Sailor survived the crash.