A small private plane, flying from Kalispell, Montana, to Bellingham, Washington, on Saturday, crashed in the mountains of north-central Washington. According to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers, the pilot was flying too low and even though he tried to pull up, it was too late for the flight to make it.
On the flight was a 16 year old girl, Autumn Veatch, flying with her step parents, who was the only survivor of this tragic crash. Leland and Sharon Bowman of Marion, Montana, were killed in this crash. Autumn told the Sheriff that they were flying in the clouds, and suddenly, it opened up and there was the mountain, and they crashed into the trees.
After the crash, the teenage survivor waited at the crash site and then hiked through the thick forest of Cascade Mountains. She found a trail that led her to the trailhead on a highway near the east entrance to North Cascades National Park. She was then picked up by a driver Monday afternoon. Then they drove for 30 miles to a general store.
Autumn said, she had a lot of burns on her hand, and was covered in scratches and bruises. Scott Graham, CEO of Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster, reported that the the girl had no life-threatening injuries. She was dehydrated and suffering from a treatable muscle tissue breakdown, caused by vigorous exercise without food or water, therefore, she stayed at the hospital overnight.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Lustick of the Civil Air Patrol feels that this is undoubtedly a miracle and in his 30 years of search and rescue, this was a very rare occurrence. Father, David Veatch of Bellingham confirms late on Monday that she seems exhausted but, she is in amazing physical shape given the situation. He adds, she was even able to joke about how they used to watch survival shows on TV together.
The trail Autumn Veatch used is called Easy Pass but, the Washington Trails Association website says: “don’t be fooled by the name — the way to Easy Pass is anything but easy.” Search was made for several hours by Navy helicopters for the wreckage until late Monday when crews suspended it. This search was due to resume on Tuesday. Based on cell-phone data and typical flight patterns, the search area was narrowed down but, there was no sign of the aircraft or the people on it until Autumn was discovered.
According to Federal Aviation Administration records; the plane was manufactured in 1949 and was registered to Leland Bowman, who was issued a private pilot license in 2011.
