Going This Way

The spinning sound of the fuel pump was of great concern. Doug and Brooks searched the mangled control panel and around the pilot’s body trying to find the fuel pump switch. They could not find it. With the pilot stabilized Doug made his way to the front of the plane while Glenn moved toward the tail. Charlie was moaning, but his eyes were open. Doug reassured him that they were there and would take care of him, not to worry. Charlie was badly hurt, the facial wound ugly and bleeding. Doug wanted to keep Charlie conscious and talking so he told him, “We’ll have to have a visit with the person who gave you that nasty split lip.” There was blood everywhere. Charlie’s white Marcair shirt, always finely pressed, was mostly full of blood. Doug had been through a few traumatic events in life, and he knew that a facial wound can often bleed to a degree that looks far worse than it is. He was hopeful and from that moment, when he made eye contact, he never let Charlie close his eyes. Foremost in Doug’s mind was, “Keep talking. Keep telling him that we’re going to get him help, and that he was going to make it.” Later, Doug remembered, “I’m not sure why, but I believe it was a special moment between me and my friend.” As Doug looked to assess Charlie’s injuries, the split on his face the most obvious, a tree leaf slowly drifted down from nearby. The small, green leaf came to rest right in the middle of the skin that had been opened at Charlie’s lip. Doug could tell that Charlie saw it falling, watching how it gently settled into his wound. Because of the severity of the split lip, Charlie’s words weren’t overly clear. Doug recounted that once the leaf landed, their eyes focused on each other again, Charlie simply said, “That sucks; can you get that for me?” Here they were, in the midst of a plane crash. Doug is doing all he can to save his terribly injured friend, and his dear friend is still the same Charlie that Doug had known for eight years, the master of the one liner, a guy who could get a smile out of you, no matter how bad your day. Doug reached in, grabbed the leaf, careful not to touch Charlie’s face, and tossed it aside. Charlie smiled. Doug tried to smile too, but it was hard. He knew his friend was in trouble; he just didn’t know how much at that moment.” Charlie wanted out of the plane. Through his facial injury, he asked them to get him out. Charlie also heard the spinning of the fuel pump and could smell the fuel. It was a bad combination. The men knew that it was better not to move someone with a traumatic injury. But as they all talked and worked together to keep Charlie alert, they and Charlie agreed that they needed to get him out of the wreck because of the high risk of fire or explosion. With the decision made, they faced another problem. The fuselage had come to rest at an angle that put most of Charlie’s door facing the ground. Glenn made his way to the rear of the fuselage in search of the battery. He now realized if he could unhook a cable, he could stop the fuel pump. They determined that they could roll the fuselage and get Charlie’s door open if they removed one small tree. Doug told Charlie what they were going to do and he nodded. By this time Glenn Hyde, the airport owner, and his friend John Richardson arrived on the scene with an axe. Several of the men took turns chopping at the base of the tree and in short order, they chopped the tree down and then moved the fuselage to an upright position. They set to work on the crumpled and jammed metal door. With few tools available, they pried it open mostly by hand. Doug kept talking to Charlie the entire time. He was moaning, but still responding to Doug’s commands. When they got his door open, it was a team effort to get him out. They were now able to get a better look at the rest of their friend’s body. Even through his blood stained pants they could tell that his legs were in bad shape. They proceeded to tell Charlie that they were about to move him and that they would try to not hurt him. In one move, as gently as they could, they lifted their friend out of the passenger seat, and sat him down with his back leaning against a tree a few feet away. Moments later, Glenn found the battery and disconnected it. The fuel pump stopped. The only sound that filled the air was heavy breathing, theirs and Charlie’s. He was trying his best to stay awake. His friends were doing their best to care for him and comfort him.