One man is fortunate to be alive after the plane he was flying crashed near 31st Avenue and Deer Valley Road near the Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix on Wednesday, June 12th.
Fox 10 reports that because of the quick action of two Good Samaritans pulled the 50-year-old pilot from the burning wreckage of his plane before it exploded several times.
Two students at Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI), Frankie Leigar and Michael Maschi were taking a smoke break away from classes and saw smoke. The two young men rushed to the scene to offer help.
“Wasn’t really worried about what was going on around me at that time. Just natural reaction,” said Leigar.
The two, with the assistance of another man, attempted to pull the pilot from the burning plane. Fortunately, he was the only person on board the single-engine Mooney M-20 aircraft at the time of the crash.
Maschi described the pilot’s condition as Leigar, another man and he attempted to pull him out of the plane. “He had a severe gash on his head and burns over most of his body. His hands peeled when we tried to help him,” he said.
They just saw the man was inside was burning and they knew that they had to get him out of there.
The pilot was rushed by ambulance to Maricopa County Burn Unit to be treated for injuries which include 2nd and 3rd-degree burns over a significant portion of his body. Officials have not yet released his identity.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor issued a statement saying that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating the cause of the crash.
