Michigan basketball recruit injured, parents killed in plane crash

[WolvEagle]

An awful story out of Charlevoix, Mich.:
http://www.freep.com/article/20110625/NEWS06/110625006/Plane-crash-injures-U-M-basketball-recruit-kills-father-stepmother?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

This young man, Austin Hatch of Fort Wayne, Ind., just verbally committed to Michigan, and it was the second time he was in a plane crash, both times with his father as pilot. His mom and two siblings died in the first crash; his dad and stepmom died in this one.

Wow. What a sad story. Austin wanted to be a doctor, just like his dad.

Interesting that John Beilein made a comment, even though Austin is only a verbal commit. I don't see him getting in trouble for it.

 

[Blitz]

Awful story.
Condolences to everyone who knew the deceased.

 

[Lieslntx]

It is a truly awful story. A young man has lost both parents, a step-parent and two siblings. So tragic. I pray mainly for the young man's emotional recovery.

 

[slappy4428]

It was the second fatal crash in a plane piloted by his father. After the first, NFW am I in that plane.

 

[sgreenwell]

It was the second fatal crash in a plane piloted by his father. After the first, NFW am I in that plane.

It's a tragic situation, but seriously, this is also what I was thinking. What the hell? His license wasn't pulled after being involved in a fatal plane accident?

 

[YGBFKM]

Have to agree with sg. My first thought after hearing the whole story was "What the **** is this father thinking? He pilots a plane that kills his wife and two children, and now he's continuing to fly with the lone remaining child? How ****ing irresponsible. What an asshole."

 

[shockey]

paging gary smith! paging s.l. price! first one to the white courtesy phone gets this story!!

and i'll wait at least a day before stomping all over the pilot/doc/father's grave. ... but geez louise.

pilots and docs, perhaps because of what they do, have to be among the most brazen, overconfident, stubborn group of people on the planet. a man grows up to be BOTH a doc and a pilot? oy.

(and, yes, i'm ducking and know MANY docs and pilots who are neither arrogant nor brazen nor stubborn... but the odds increase greatly for the shoe fitting if you're either).

 

[YGBFKM]

As far as I'm concerned, this guy continuing to pilot what was left of his family after the first crash was an ego-driven version of Russian Roulette. In a very real way, if his son dies, the father killed him.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Can relate to the father.

 

[sgreenwell]

paging gary smith! paging s.l. price! first one to the white courtesy phone gets this story!!

and i'll wait at least a day before stomping all over the pilot/doc/father's grave. ... but geez louise.

Yeah. Maybe the first accident was just some freak thing, and this is equivalent to those urban legend tales of a guy struck by lightning eight times. But man, what the hell?

 

[YGBFKM]

Can relate to the father.

Darn the luck of all his dead children and wives, too. Some people just can't catch a break.

 

[WildBillyCrazyCat]

Just finished reading the NTSB report from the 2003 crash. First time around, the guy simply ran out of fuel.

 

[shockey]

This kid will have a tough time in so many aspects in his life now. Given that major college sports requires a good amount of flying, how does he get on any plane after this?

well. since daddy is no longer available to be the pilot, shouldn't be a problem...

 

[Mark McGwire]

This kid will have a tough time in so many aspects in his life now. Given that major college sports requires a good amount of flying, how does he get on any plane after this?

well. since daddy is no longer available to be the pilot, shouldn't be a problem...

Jeebus, man.

 

[YGBFKM]

Just finished reading the NTSB report from the 2003 crash. First time around, the guy simply ran out of fuel.

That makes it even worse.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Not sure why the father was supposed to stop flying after the first accident. Are people involved in fatal car accidents never supposed to drive again? Should they be ashamed if they get behind the wheel with their kid as a passenger if they've been involved in a fatal accident before?

And if you don't buy the car comparison, lots of people survive small plane crashes on planes they've piloted. I'm guessing most continue to fly.

 

[YGBFKM]

It's one thing if he wants to fly --personal choice and all that -- although I contend it's irresponsible, as a father, to take the risk with one remaining member of the family, who, BTW, had to grow up without his mother. I think he owed it to his son (and new wife) to rethink the importance and frequency of flying his own plane. With that in mind, it's UNFATHOMABLE that he continued to fly with the rest of his family in tow.

 

[User 1019]

Just finished reading the NTSB report from the 2003 crash. First time around, the guy simply ran out of fuel.

You gotta link for that? I'd like to read it, but couldn't find it.

 

[Drip]

I'm praying for this young man and his family. Tragic story. The Hatches were flying to their summer home on Walloon Lake in Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula, where Stephen Hatch and his brothers all owned property, when his single-engine plane flew into a garage near the Charlevoix Municipal Airport. It was the same home Stephen Hatch and the family were returning from nearly eight years ago when they crashed in Indiana.
A 2005 federal report on the September 2003 crash found inaccurate preflight planning resulted in the plane not having enough fuel. The National Transportation Safety Board determined a utility pole the airplane hit during its forced landing, a low ceiling and dark night also contributed to the crash.

Dr. G. David Bojrab, a colleague and close friend of Austin's father, told The Associated Press his friend disputed the report's findings, believing equipment failure caused the crash.

"When he crashed, it was an inferno, which makes you wonder how he could have been out of gas," Bojrab said.

Hatch saved Austin, but his other children — Lindsay, 11, and Ian, 5 — died along with his wife, Julie, 38.
"His wife and two children were in flames and he was never able to reach them," Bojrab said. "Steve reached over to his son who was sitting in front with him and tossed him out the window to save his life."

 

[WildBillyCrazyCat]

TBF, I just downloaded both the prelim and full reports from the NTSB accident database.