Girl burned in Anchorage plane crash to head home to Texas
SEATTLE - A 16-year-old girl who survived the fiery crash of a light plane in Anchorage last month said Wednesday that she is profoundly grateful for bystanders who saved her life by pulling her and the other victims from the burning wreckage.
"They didn't have to do it, but they did," said Rachel Zientek.
Rachel is being discharged Thursday from Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where she has been treated for extensive burns since the June 1 crash.
The Houston teen was aboard a single-engine plane that clipped the roof of a motel and crashed at the edge of downtown Anchorage shortly after takeoff from Merrill Field. Dozens of bystanders ran to help rescue those aboard the Cessna 206 by lifting the wreckage, spraying it with fire extinguishers and reaching inside the burning aircraft to pull victims out.
Three others in the plane were critically burned, and a 4-year-old boy died.
Rachel and her parents, Mike and Tammy Zientek, said it's difficult to find words for how thankful they are for the spontaneous bravery.
"They gave my daughter a life," said her father, a Houston police officer. "I can't imagine what would happen if they weren't there. But they took action - they didn't just sit back and watch. They knew what they had to do, and they did it."
Rachel was flown to Harboview Medical Center in Seattle after initial treatment in Anchorage. Her mother said she suffered third-degree burns to 20 percent of her body, mostly her legs, but also on her right arm and some of her left side.
Pilot Preston Cavner, 34, his wife, Stacie, 32, and their 2-year-old son Hudson were taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Ore., where they were treated for severe burns and other injuries. Hospital officials said they remained in serious condition Wednesday.
Killed in the accident was 4-year-old Myles Cavner.
"He was like a little brother," Rachel said, her eyes tearing up. "He called me Miss Rachel."
The Cavners run a guide service and lodge at Port Alsworth, Alaska. Rachel, a family friend, had just arrived to help tend the couple's young sons for the summer.
She said the plane, on its way to Port Alsworth, was in the air for a short time when it was clear something was wrong.
"I just felt like we went up, and we went right down," she described.
She remembered only scattered moments of her ordeal, including the takeoff and the moment the plane dived.
"I do remember sitting there for a little bit and seeing people run toward the plane," she said. Before she blacked out, she said she saw fire and "started screaming."
She was sitting behind Preston Cavner and holding Hudson in her lap. After the pilot was pulled from the plane, Rachel handed the toddler to a rescuer before they were able to get her out.
"I believe she saved Hudson's life," her father said. "She held onto him throughout the whole ordeal."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident and has not said what might have caused it. A preliminary NTSB report showed no problems were found with the plane's airframe or systems, and that the engine appeared to be working.
In addition to the five people, the report said the plane was carrying 55 pieces of lumber, ceramic tile, groceries, clothing and other personal effects. Investigators have said they are looking at the plane's weight and load balance as part of the probe.
Rachel has undergone seven surgeries, the most recent on Monday to clean some wounds, and may need additional operations while she undergoes months of physical therapy in Houston, said Dr. Nicole Gibran, director of the University of Washington Medicine Burn Center at Harborview.
The tips of the girl's toes were amputated, and she may have problems with balance and range of motion, Gibran said, "but right now, she's doing great."
Rachel said her goal is to be able to run and again play on her high school basketball team.
"Nothing will change," she said. "I will be able to do everything that I was able to do. I will just have to work harder for it."