Sailor Gutzler: 7-Year-Old Girl Used Burning Airplane Wing For Light, Walked Across 12-Foot Ditch After Plane Crash [Video]

Sailor Gutzler sounds like one amazing little girl. The 7-year-old was in a plane flying from Florida to Illinois after her family finished vacationing in Florida, reports NBC News, when their plane experienced trouble and crashed in the woods. Instead of going into shock after the plane she was riding in crashed and landed upside down, Sailor pulled herself out of the wreckage and used the plane’s burning wing to light a branch to see clearly in the dark woods, say officials at the scene.

Sailor was upside down, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and had endured broken bones when the 7-year-old pulled herself out of plane and walked through a rough area of dark woods full of thorns, blackberry briars, and even navigated a 12-foot ditch in a creek bed in order to make it to the home of Larry Wilkins, reports CNN.

Arriving barefoot – save for one sock – little 7-year-old Sailor had a bloody nose, bloody legs, and bloody arms, said Larry, but her voice was clear as she told Larry that her mom and dad were dead and that she had survived a plane crash. After learning that Sailor had walked about three-fourths of a mile in the cold January night, through rough Kentucky woods before knocking on his door, Wilkins called 911 and the Kentucky State Police showed up within 10 minutes, leaving Larry and the authorities marveling over Sailor’s survival and calling her a brave little girl.

“She’s a terribly brave little girl, I’ll tell you that. I can’t imagine a 7-year-old doing that. She done good.”

At this time, the family of Sailor is asking for prayers and privacy as officials try to determine the exact cause of the crash. The plane that transported Sailor was flying at 1,800 feet when it reported trouble. It was raining in the area and at the plane’s cruising altitude it could have been at the freezing level.

Sailor’s parents, Marty and Kimberly Gutzler, can be seen in photos on Marty’s Facebook page, with images of their daughters and the family sitting within a small plane. Having possessed a deep love of flying, Marty reportedly received his pilot’s license prior to getting his driver’s license, and he taught his kids survival skills. As reported by the Inquisitr, the most recent photos show the family celebrating New Year’s Eve at a Key West resort where they brought along a cousin to act as a babysitter.

[Image of Sailor Gutzler via NBC]