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Sailor Gutzler was the sole survivor after her family's Piper twin-engine aircraft landed upside down in a wooded area in Lyon County on Friday, leaving her parents, sister and cousin dead.
The plucky girl emerged from the plane, lit a stick from the burning wing and then — bloodied and with broken bones — walked through the cold darkness, her family said Saturday.
The strong-willed second-grader trekked three-quarters of a mile through the woods and a creek before she knocked on a homeowner's door for help.
She may have had "survival skills" but she also had a lot of luck...and that is why she's alive today, not due to her "survival skills". At least one other person in the crash - her father - had survival skills as well, but he didn't survive. Her survival had more to do with the fact that she weighed very little, and just did not sustain life-threatening injuries. The others weren't as lucky.
She may have had "survival skills" but she also had a lot of luck...and that is why she's alive today, not due to her "survival skills". At least one other person in the crash - her father - had survival skills as well, but he didn't survive. Her survival had more to do with the fact that she weighed very little, and just did not sustain life-threatening injuries. The others weren't as lucky.
Any other small child alone and without those skills would have perished in those woods.
What were her skills? I'm not aware of any reported, I must have missed it.
The "skills" were the capacity for clear thinking in very stressful circumstances, situation assessment, needs assessment, and planning/taking appropriate action. Whether or not they are properly called 'survival skills' is academic. The point is that they are pretty uncommon among 7-year-old children here in the US of A.
Most seven year olds, and many older people, would have simply curled up in a ball and cried. She didn't because she had the will to survive regardless of what she had suffered. Skills are handy, but her will to survive is what saved her.
Most seven year olds, and many older people, would have simply curled up in a ball and cried. She didn't because she had the will to survive regardless of what she had suffered. Skills are handy, but her will to survive is what saved her.
I think most 7-year olds could survive and walk about a mile to safety if they were guided by a houselight. It's not that far.
She's fortunate her legs weren't broken or that the plane didn't land slightly farther in either direction; otherwise, she would have suffered the same fate as her family.
The kid was plain lucky.
It's good to hear she has other family to continue on with.
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