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Show Pilot Escapes With Minor Injuries In Fiery Cropduster Crash CIRCLEVILLE - "This has really taught me a new perspective perspec-tive on life from this day I will fly smarter instead of harder," hard-er," were the words choked back through slight tears as pilot Mike Thornton, 41, of Parowan recalled from his hospital bed in Panguitch the events of earlier that morning. Thornton, a 12-year flying veteran and familiar, friendly face to so many in these southern south-ern Utah counties, narrowly escaped death Monday morning when his plane crashed while '"- ' . ': ! .... " " ss ' ' ;r i I.,1 v . - ; I . , w v : A pensive and grateful Mike Thornton, Parowan, rests in his hospital bed at Garfield Memorial Hospital where he was treated for burns and later released after his harrowing harrow-ing escape from his burning cropduster at Circleville. crop dusting a farmer's field northeast of Circleville. As he sat in the emergency room at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Panguitch, he tried to recount the moments leading up to fateful crash. Thornton had slept in his truck by his plane in Parowan, wanting to start spraying as early as possible before the daily winds picked up, forcing small planes to the' ground. Circleville is just very short hop from Parowan and he had been spraying the fields in these small communities for the past several weeks , trying to get a handle on the area's weevil and aphid situation. The Crash This was to be his last load of the morning and one of the last passes over the fields of Bruce Smith as winds had begun steadily picking up. Normally flying in a northsouth pattern he was alternating an eastwest flight pattern, a "racetrack" approach as he called it, trying to avoid a ridge on the east side of the field. About 10:30 a.m., as he turned the plane back toward the field, suddenly he felt a huge down draft which immediately began to take him straight down nose first. He pushed the nose forward trying to jettison the remaining chemical in the craft to lighten his load, he could see the ground coming up fast and pulled abruptly back on the stick turning the craft 180 degrees and headed into the ground tail first. "A pilot is taught never to quit flying the craft," Thornton said. "You are continually thinking, think-ing, making every effort to pull out of your situation." Wearing his helmet and seatbelted in, the first order of business upon impact was to release his safety belt. He was amazed, he said, that the impact was so soft. He remembers his head being thrown forward, but says he didn't did-n't even hit into the dashboard. Immediately flames began to shoot up around the cockpit. He tried to open the canopy on his left, but it was jammed. He quickly turned to the right ' canopy, thumped a couple of times on it and it released. He reached overhead, pulled up his legs and almost back-flipped out of the craft, moving rapidly away from the burning wreckage. wreck-age. Suddenly pain hit him and he became aware of burns to his hands and right arm. He ran to a nearby canal looking for water but it was dry. He could see farmer Bruce Smith coming on his tractor faster than he had ever seen a tractor move. Even ahead of Smith was Lynn Barnson in his pickup who scooped up Thornton and raced him to a nearby dairy to put water on his burns. The burns were a combina (See CRASH on page 5A) Airplane Crash From Front Page tion of second and third degree as he would find out later at the hospital, where he was treated by physician Dr. Todd Mooney, given fluids and .released about 4 p.m. He will travel to Salt Lake City on Tuesday to have his burns examined by a burn specialist to see if any skin grafts will be required. Thornton was remarkably unhurt by the entire incident but knows he is a walking miracle 'and cannot deny God's intervention interven-tion in his life that morning. Emergency Response The Piute County Ambulance ' with EMT's David Brindley and Jo Whittaker and first responder Linda Jenkins were dispatched to the dairy where they adminis-' adminis-' tered emergency treatment and transported Thornton to Garfield Memorial Hospital, 25 miles south in Panguitch. They were amazed to be treating a patient who actually walked away from what could have easily eas-ily been a fatal plane crash. Back at the scene of the 1 crash, Kerry Dalton and Mike Dalton were among the volunteer volun-teer firefighters who turned out to contain the flames at the wreckage as the plane was consumed. con-sumed. Community Response Thornton was gratified and deeply touched by the rapid response and caring concern of Circleville residents. "These are some of the best people in the world," he said. "You could see them racing out of town to check on me and comfort me. I think the whole town was there within minutes." He likewise praised the medical staff at Garfield Memorial for their compassion and skill. Waxing nostalgic and deeply pensive as the interviews with local press and news stations continued throughout the afternoon, after-noon, Thornton was moved to tears several times, as the impact of the day's events overwhelmed over-whelmed him. Pilot Training Having flown for 12 past years, Thornton said he did not decide until he was 29 years old that he should pursue what he loves. Reared on farms and active in rodeo as a bull rider, he had wanted to fly planes from a very young age. His grandfather, John Richard Batt, was a pilot and flight instructor and was actually actual-ly killed at age 34 in an old WWII trainer in Parowan. And Thornton can still recite stories about the grandfather he never got to meet. He said he was taught to fly by one of the best, Gordon Jewett the Chief Flight Instructor at Cedar City. He first learned to fly in a Cessna 172 and later bought a J5 Cub, "a sweet little outfit," he called it. When local pilot Jim Chisolm died, a man Thornton had loved and respected, he set out to purchase Jim's personal aircraft. Now, with the loss Chisolm's workhorse plane in Monday's crash, Thornton says he will press his backup Cessna Ag Wagon A188B into action within with-in the next couple of days and hopefully be back in the air by Wednesday or Thursday. He has been working as a crop dusting pilot since 1999. Counting His Blessings "I know I experienced a miracle mir-acle today," was part of Thornton's interview with reporters. A praying man, anyone any-one who knows him, knows he has a gift for gab and a passion for God. He tries to share about God throughout the week and relies upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. . "I pray morning and night, but today taught me God's power is greater than man's, he said. "I love my family and I found out I'm not 10-feet tall and bullet proof. This has helped me to see things a little more clearly. I'm going to try to make better decisions, maybe see what else God has for me to do in this life." Thornton was so grateful that the field where he crashed was away from people, animals, and buildings. He was grateful also for the "blessing" he received at the scene from Lon Dalton and Dave Brindley, two fellow church members. Reflecting on the accident, Thornton said he had been "pushing it a little hard," trying to finish the job of spraying for weevils in the alfalfa fields of Bruce Smith of Circleville, when winds as usual began to pick up mid-morning in these small communities. Thornton said he felt the obligation of trying try-ing to help farmers get a handle on the grasshoppers, weevils and crickets because his family has been in farming all their lives. Devastating Loss To Thornton, the loss of his precious Belanca Eagle DW1 aircraft was nearly as devastating devastat-ing as losing a family member. "You become so much one with your plane," explained Thornton, "the trust, the famil- iarity, the ease are all so impor-tant." impor-tant." Thornton purchased the plane from Dave Cowen of Parowan Aero Services after Jim Chisolm's death. He figures he owes his life to Chisolm who personally designed the plane for pilot safety. The craft was extra sturdy with a "turtle deck" designed and built to give extra, room, acting almost as an overhead over-head roll bar would on a truck. Thornton believes the design had much to do with his having gotten out safely. "I truly loved that airplane and the man who used to own it," he said. Thornton's wife Sherri who operates a daycare center in Parowan was at his bedside with their son Landon 12. They are also parents to Jaycee 20, Chandler 17 and Shay lee 13. |
