Seven-Year-Old Sole Survivor In Seneca Crash

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A7-year-oldgirl was the sole survivor of the crash of a Piper Seneca in a remote area of Kentucky Friday night that killed four others, according to Kentucky State Police. The aircraft had been en route from Key West, Florida, to Mount Vernon, Illinois, authorities reported. On Saturday, authorities identified the girl as Sailor Gutzler.

In an interview with NBC News late Friday, Larry Wilkins, a resident of the area, said he was watching local news when he heard a knock at the door. “The little girl come to my door. She was bleeding pretty bad, her legs were bleeding, her face had a bloody nose. She was barefoot, only had one sock on.” She told Wilkins she had been in a plane crash and that her parents were dead and the aircraft was upside down.

Early Saturday, Kentucky State Police identified the victims as Marty Gutzler, 49, his wife Kimberly, 45, and 9-year-old Piper Gutzler. Also killed was 14-year-old Sierra Wilder, a cousin. Police said all of the victims were from Nashville, Illinois.

The wreckage of the Seneca was located in a heavily wooded area near Buckberry Trail in Lyon County, Kentucky, in far western Kentucky not far from the Illinois state line. “FAA air traffic controllers lost contact with a Piper PA-34 aircraft … shortly after the pilot reported engine problems, and told air traffic controllers that he was diverting to the Kentucky Dam State Airport,” FAA Communications Manager Kathleen Bergen told NBC.

The bodies were removed from the aircraft on Saturday, authorities said. Authorities are hailing Sailor’s survival as miraculous, given that the aircraft sliced through trees and came to rest inverted. There appears to have been no post-crash fire. Sailor had to walk about three-quarters of a mile through wooded, steep terrain to reach Wilkins’ door. Wilkins told CNN that he believes she saw streetlights and was guided to them. She was treated a local hospital for minor injuries and released.

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