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Lucky to be alive?
Family’s faith stronger after plane crash
Worthington couple, kids walk away after aircraft goes down in North Carolina fog Monday, January 01, 2007 Jodi Andes THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Laurenze Ducatte, second from left, and Caitlin, 11, front, were unharmed when the family’s plane crashed in North Carolina. Gerald Ducatte and Chelsea, 14, had minor bumps and scrapes. It was as though angels landed the plane in the woods. That was Gerald Ducatte’s thought as his wife and two daughters stood outside their crumpled 1963 Beechcraft Musketeer somewhere deep in the woods of North Carolina. Minutes before, Ducatte was piloting the four-seater on their way to a vacation to Florida when it crashed in thick fog late Saturday morning outside Asheville, N.C. The Worthington family, though, walked away. Chelsea, 14, had a cut on her right hand. Mr. Ducatte had abrasions on his left shoul- der and a few lumps from where the left side of the cabin caved in. His wife, Laurenze, and their youngest daughter, Caitlin, 11, walked out of the back of the plane without a scratch. Mrs. Ducatte, who teaches nursing at Columbus State Community College, didn’t need to treat anyone. "It was truly a miracle. There are no other explanations for it," said Gerald’s mother, Beverley Ducatte, a Virginia resident who viewed pictures of the mangled plane on CNN. The Ducattes took off from Don Scott Field at 8 a.m. Saturday, heading for Orlando, Fla. They left in light, comfortable clothes, ready for Florida’s 80-degree warmth. A heavy fog made it impossible to see in the skies above North Carolina. A recorded message from the Asheville airport said there was 1,000 feet of clearance between the clouds and ground. Mr. Ducatte descended to find those clear skies. But when they got to that level, visibility was actually worse, he said. The next time he was able to see something, it was too late. "When we got down there and got out of a cloud there were trees," Mrs. Ducatte said. The plane skidded off the top of the trees before plowing into limbs, Mr. Ducatte said. Standing outside the wreckage, the family could see that trees clipped off the plane’s left wing, and the right wing was barely attached. The fuselage came to rest with its nose nestled between trees. Fuel leaked from several spots but didn’t ignite. Snow covered parts of the mountainside and the air felt only a few degrees above freezing. With no heavy jackets on board, the family pulled extra clothes from their luggage, called 911 and waited for help. Rescuers made it to the site in about two hours. It took another three hours to climb down the mountain, Mrs. Ducatte said. Medics and deputies were gracious as they helped the family — and their luggage — down the mountain, she said. "They were tremendous," Mrs. Ducatte said. The family took a cab to a nearby hotel before renting a car yesterday and continuing on to Florida for their vacation. Chelsea, a freshman at Thomas Worthington High School, rested so well that she was even laughing in her sleep, her mother said. There were many calls from friends after the family’s story made national news. Chelsea said she was happy knowing she was loved. Mrs. Ducatte said that the family’s Christian beliefs are even stronger now. Mr. Ducatte, a chemist at Battelle, has a basic pilot’s license and has been flying a few years. He said he is thankful for his flight instructor, Chuck Miele. Mrs. Ducatte said she is glad that her husband was so skilled and that emergency crews worked so quickly to find them. But both say that credit for their safety doesn’t belong in human hands. |
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