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Teen Rolls Out of Fiery Detroit Plane Crash that Killed His Parents

A single-engine plane crashed in a Detroit neighborhood the other day, after the pilot reported that his landing gear couldn’t deploy and that he was low on fuel.
Teen rolls out of fiery plane crash that killed his parents 12 photos
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The pilot was Greg Boaz, a Houston businessman, and he was accompanied by his wife, Julie, and his son. The 17-year-old boy was the lone survivor in the crash, in what is being labeled in the media a “miraculous” rescue operation.

Though we’re used to seeing stuff like this in big Hollywood blockbusters, it’s not everyday that you see someone roll out of a fiery plane wreck. This is what the teen did, after an eyewitness saw the crash and rushed to his aide, ax in hand.

You can see it in the video below. The eyewitness’ name is Cordell Owens, and while he admits that what he did could have cost him his life as well, he refuses to be labeled a hero.

“The plane crashed and we start running towards it and it was a small plane and the flames were out of control, it started burning and the gentleman in the plane started hollering and screaming, and that was when I went to work,”
Owens says, as cited by Click2Houston.

With the ax, he made a hole in the plane, allowing the teen to escape from it. The boy is now in the hospital in stable condition, recovering from smoke in his lungs and burns on his back and hands.

“I feel real good about it. I don’t feel like a hero, but it is something that I had to do,” Owens adds.

The plane, a Cessna 210 was due to land at the Detroit City Airport and was coming from Arkansas. The pilot asked for permission to land soon after entering the Detroit area, but soon said that he couldn’t deploy the landing gear. The last communication was when he reported he was low on fuel.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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