All, Please forward this letter on to whoever you see fit...

Good morning all. Let me first express on behalf of Amanda, Kyle,
myself and both of our families so many thanks for all of your prayers
and well wishes. We are all so fortunate to have such a wonderful
support network in all of you.

We are still waiting for updates and it could be many hours, days, or
weeks before we know exactly how the recovery process will play out
between Amanda and Kyle. I can however report that Kyle was not injured
and or burned as badly as reported earlier by the media and is expected
to make a full and rapid recovery. I can also say that the updates we
are receiving on Amanda are increasingly optimistic and though she has a
long road of recovery ahead of her, the doctors are giving us the
impression that things are not as bad as first reported and her chances
for a full recovery are getting better not worse. The first 24 hours
will set the tone for the story ahead.

I also have to extend a very sincere thanks to my brother-in-law Kyle
who I strongly credit for the fact that my little sister is still with
us. Having witnessed the accident and being on of the first on the
scene, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he made no less than
five quick decisions in the air and on the ground that gave her a second
chance at life!!

When the engine quit, Amanda was on the top wing in the rack. Kyle
continued to fly the airplane in a straight and level fashion as long as
he could to give Amanda every opportunity to unstrap and get into the
front cockpit where she would have the best chance in the event of a
hard landing. He also resisted the tendency to turn for the pavement
which typically induces a fatal stall/spin situation. He avoided a
landing in the pyro field which could have proven to be fatal, and faced
with the only other option of land in mesquite woods, Kyle landed into
the wind drastically reducing the forward speed at impact. Upon
reaching the scene, I noticed that he set the airplane down in the only
Waco sized piece of ground in that dense woods that didn't have tall
trees in it. Kyle sustained the majority of his burns trying to pull
his wife from the wreckage and when his efforts produced no results, he
stayed in the cockpit and transmitted a repeating distress call about
the post impact fire that had started. I honestly believe this
motivated the rapid responders to press through the brush and douse the
airplane at a more rapid rate which meant the split second difference
that saved Amanda, who was still in the plane.

The first responders on the scene did an excellent job of responding to
the situation in a rapid manner. Having a professional air boss teamed
up with professional CFR personnel made a world of difference that could
be the single most important factor that both Amanda and Kyle are still
with us.

Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers this direction because
we sincerely believe they are helping. I will pass updates along as I
receive them.

Sincerely
Matt

shortfielder wrote:I just heard a little blip this AM. Said the engine caught on fire. Too bad, but could have been a lot worse. He does some cool stuff with Kitfoxes and the drunk stealing the cub. Should all be on utube.

His dad died back in '05. y. Good guy. I had a friend in Az. that used to rebuild the wings for his Wacos.
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