So Many Things Right/ So Many Things Wrong.....

So many things went wrong and so many things went right on that beautiful brisk morning in Marble. William “ Mike “ Fritts of Osceola, Mo. woke up early, he wanted to check out his Beechcraft G35 single-engine plane for an early morning flight. He, his wife and daughter had spent a couple of wonderful days camping on the Marble airstrip. Planning on leaving the following morning he wanted to burn off some fuel before loading his camping gear and family onto the plane. He felt it would be better to have a lighter plane for take off, at an altitude of 7,700 feet.

The night before the Fritts’s joined the Gallegos’s, the owners of the airstrip, the Blues, the caretakers, and the Gallegos’s visiting cousins, Jeryl and Kelly Schauer from Tucson for a barbeque. Mike had offered them a flight around the area, as thank you. Glen bowed out and had a weird feeling about this, but didn’t say anything. Diane Gallegos, Sue Blue, Jeryl and Kelly decided to go. Mike was concerned about weight so he decided to take only two passengers at a time. The arrangements were made and it was decided that Diane and Sue would go first and then Jeryl and Kelly would fly second. At that time Jeryl had a premonition that something was going to happen, but everything was going to be ok.

That morning Diane was awoken by the engine of the plane. She got dressed quickly and woke up her cousins. As she walked toward the plane the bright sun cresting the mountains blinded her. In that moment she turned around and decided not to fly first, but would have her cousins take the first flight instead. Jeryl had the same feeling she had the night before, but dismissed it. She thought she was just nervous because she hadn’t flown in a small plane in 30 years.

Jeryl and Kelly were buckled into the plane, had an easy take off and a wonderful flight around the beautiful Marble area. After the tour, Mike headed for the airstrip to land but could not see it, because he was blinded by the new days sun arising from behind the mountain. Once he realized he had passed the airstrip and saw the mountains advancing, he tried to gain altitude and couldn’t. He then attempted to turn, the sun blinded him again and he couldn’t see the mountain and Aspen trees directly ahead of him.

“Oh Sh…. !” That was it. The plane crashed above Beaver Lake at the end of the Town of Marble. Mike died on impact. Jeryl and Kelly miraculously survived the crash. So many things went wrong, so many things went right. Because the pilot couldn’t gain altitude the plane was close to the ground. As the plane crashed through the aspen tress, Kelly sensed her deceased relative that was a military pilot from Glenwood Springs, guiding their landing. The aspen trees that caused the crash also cushioned their fall.

Kelly had read and memorized the instructions when she got into the plane on how to open the back window. After the crash she took out the pin, kicked out the window and crawled out of the plane. She unhooked her injured and bleeding mother from the seat belt and helped her out. Now what?

The light of the early morning sun shone upon a path. So she followed it. The path took her directly to a house. No one was home, so she continued down the road. She couldn’t see any more houses so she went back to the house and searched for an open door and found one. She broke in and luckily found a phone that worked and called 911. Few that crash in this mountain terrain can be found right away. Thanks to Kelly’s quick thinking rescuers could get to the plane and help her and her mother.

Jeryl and Kelly sustained injuries that they will hopefully recover from. They feel blessed and believe that it was a miracle they are alive. The unfortunate news is that the pilot did not have any insurance. Kelly had just graduated from the University of Arizona and was moving to California to start a new career after her trip to Colorado. This was put on hold because she decided to take care of her mother who needed consistent care. So both Jeryl and Kelly have not been able to work since the crash. They also have incurred medical and additional bills that their insurance company did not cover. Jeryl and Kelly would appreciate and be very grateful for any help you can give. The following Pay Pal account has been set up under the log in name of [email protected] or you can send a check to Jeryl or Kelly Schauer at 1287 W. Cysalline Way, Tucson, Arizona, 85737. Thank you for your help.
https://personal.paypal.com/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_us/send_money

The above story was emailed to me from Diane Gallegos. Diane and her husband Glen own the Marble Airstrip. Several BCP pilot's recently spent the weekend with the Gallegos' and when Diane mentioned the struggles her cousins were going through we decided to throw this out to the BCP community to see if we can help. Matt and I ran the idea by Zane for approval and got the thumbs up to post. I'm not sure how much this will bring them, but I think any amount will show them we care. If you can spare a few bucks for a good cause please click the paypal link and use Kelly's email address in the message to donate. If you would rather send a check, their address is provide.

Thanks in advance for any help we can provide.

Bill

Glad it's finally up! Thanks!

I'll get something in the mail.

Thanks Bill for putting this up.

This is a pretty bad deal and it's great to see the aviation community step up and lend a helping hand, no matter how big or small. Money sent and praying for all involved.

Thanks for setting it up Bill. I'm in to help.

Cheers

Thanks for the help so far everyone.

$ sent

Here is an update I received from Jerly and Kelly Schauer:

Thank you very much for your contribution and support, we greatly appreciate it! I'm healing just fine thankfully and my mother is well on the road to recovery. She was able to get her cast taken off and is moving around in a medical boot now. She is frequently going to physical therapy and will hopefully eventually be walking like she was able to before the crash. Once again, thank you very much for your support!

Jeryl & Kelly Schauer

$ sent.