North Carolina Couple and Dogs Survive Plane Crash After Engine Failure
A pilot's quick thinking and a fortunate tree landing saved a couple and their two dogs from a near-fatal plane crash.
Dustin and Autumn Davis, of North Carolina, along with their two dogs, Sophie and Royce, miraculously survived a plane crash on the evening of October 7 after their single-engine Piper PA-32 experienced a complete engine failure. The couple was on a routine 40-minute flight from their home in Hickory to their beach house in Ocean Isle Beach when the engine began sputtering and then lost power.
While at 6,000 feet, pilot Dustin Davis had approximately six minutes to react. He contacted air traffic control, which informed him that the nearest airport was eight miles away, an unreachable distance given the loss of engine power. Faced with limited options and descending rapidly, Davis opted to steer the plane toward a wooded area.
As the aircraft neared the ground, Davis maneuvered to slow its descent, pulling up just above the canopy to allow the plane's belly to absorb the primary impact. The plane ultimately came to rest in a tree that, according to Davis, "held us like a glove." The couple was able to exit the aircraft, which landed about six feet off the ground.
Dustin Davis sustained a black eye from hitting the dashboard, while Autumn Davis reported soreness in her neck and back. Their dogs, Sophie and Royce, were unharmed. "Seeing that we were only six feet off the ground, I could not tell you the joy and happiness," Davis told WRAL. "We got our dogs and jumped out of that plane."
Davis, who has owned the Piper PA-32 for about six years and confirmed it had passed its annual inspection, reflected on the incident, noting a shift in perspective. "What I was not thinking about when we were going down - I was not thinking about bitterness. I was not thinking about someone that's hurt my feelings. I was not thinking about a busy schedule, or a bank account, or anything like that," he said. "So if it wasn't that big a deal when we were looking death in the face, then it's probably not that big a deal now, and we don't need to get so worked up about certain things."
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the engine failure and subsequent crash. The couple had frequently made this trip to their beach house, valued at $780,000.