Community Helps Paralyzed Pilot Fly Again

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Oakland, Calif., pilot Quincey Carr might yet achieve many of his dreams after going through a nightmare for the past year. Carr, 22, was getting his hair cut last Aug. 11 when, for no apparent reason, a man shot him five times as he sat in the barber chair. At the time, Carr had paid to earn his private pilot certificate by working three jobs. He was heading for his commercial ticket when the seemingly senseless violence almost sent him on another journey. Carr almost didnt survive the shooting but, as he recovered from his multiple injuries, he never lost his desire to fly. The shooting robbed him of the use of his legs but, according to the Alameda Times-Star, with some help from the local aviation community, his family and church, that wont be an obstacle to his resuming flying. Local pilots, with help from his congregation, have raised almost $10,000 to buy hand controls and to pay for more training. In all, more than 100 donations were received, some from as far away as Hawaii and Pennsylvania. Local flight instructor Bill Dillon spearheaded the drive and is now designing Carrs training program. “[Quincey] is so enthusiastic about flying,” Dillon told the newspaper. “We’ll be setting up a formal training agenda for him, to get him trained on these hand controls. We might even have to pull the reins in on him a bit, he’s so excited about it.”

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