Kentucky Plane Crash: 7-Year-Old Girl Crawls Away From Crash That Killed Her Entire Family, Knocks On Stranger’s Door For Help

A Kentucky plane crash took a little girl’s entire family and left her nearly unharmed and crawling to a stranger’s door for help. The disoriented 7-year-old girl maneuvered her way to a home in Lyon County and begged the residents for help. The Piper Seneca aircraft went down near KY 810 South in a rural southwestern region of the state

The FAA received an emergency distress call from the Piper PA-34-200T piloted by Marty Gutzler, 49, around 6 p.m. last night. The Gutzler family on board the plane included the 7-year-old girl, her 9-year-old sister, Piper, their mother, Kim, and 14-year-old cousin Sierra Wilder. The family was flying from Key West, Florida, to Mount Vernon, Illinois, in the private plane.

The 7-year-old girl sustained only minor injuries, but has been hospitalized. The plane was found around 11 p.m. by emergency responders. Kentucky State Police identified the crash victims earlier this morning. The Gutzler family has asked that the 7-year-old girl who survived the crash not be named. The family was from Nashville, Tennessee.

Marty Gutzler’s Facebook page indicates that he and his wife, Kim, were traveling to Key West to celebrate New Year’s Eve at The Reach Resort. The cousin, Sierra Wilder, joined the couple and their daughters to enjoy the tropical excursion and to act as a babysitter.

FAA representative Kathleen Bergen said air traffic controllers lost contact with the Piper Seneca as it flew over Marshall County, Kentucky. Marty Gutzler had reported having engine problems prior to the radio silence. Dr. Alan Froehling, a neuromuscular orthopedic doctor from Mount Vernon, Illinois, owned the Piper PA-34-200T aircraft, according to the Daily Mail.

Kentucky resident Larry Wilkins, 71, said the 7-year-old plane crash survivor knocked on his door Friday evening around an hour after the plane went down. Wilkins described the Gutzler child as “brave.” He also told the media that the little girl said her parents were killed in the Piper Seneca crash, and that their plane had landed upside down.

“She asked if she could stay here. I felt so sorry for her tears came to my eyes,” the man recalled.

After calling 911, Wilkins cleaned the bloodied child with a wash cloth and waited for the police to arrive. The 7-year-old plane crash survivor was reportedly so upset she could barely make herself understood to the emergency responders when they arrived.