Dad, Two Children Survive Plane Crash

Tue., April 25, 2000

From Staff Reports

A California man and his two children survived the crash of their single-engine airplane, crawled out through the broken windshield and spent most of a cold night at the crash site until rescuers arrived Monday, officials said.

The father and a daughter were listed in serious condition at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, while a son was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

John Kenneth Palmer, 47, of San Jose, Calif., told police that he and his children, Christopher, 11, and Stephani Nicole, 13, were on a flight from Los Banos, Calif., to Medford when their 1977 Piper PA-28-181 began having engine problems.

The plane crashed in a small field area 23 miles east of Ashland about 7 p.m. Sunday. The crash activated the plane’s automatic emergency beacon.

Rescuers found the trio shortly before 3:30 a.m. The father and son had cuts and bruises, and the daughter had head and neck injuries.

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