ACHILLESiii

Fuck it, doing it myself:

Back in June of 2013, I was piloting a light sport aircraft across the country along with a good friend who was also a pilot and my instructor. While almost to our destination at night, the engine quit over the terrain of Texas which includes canyons, valleys, hills, and any other extreme terrain. At night, the terrain is invisible. No light illuminates the ground. After gliding for what seemed like eternity, the aircraft impacted in a canyon after deploying a ballistic parachute. The force of the impact was enough to compress my spine, destroying my back and paralyzing my older instructor below his hips. The aircraft continued to travel 1.7 miles across the ground before stopping on a barbed wire fence. My instructor did not survive. So this is my story.

Proof.

I am the commercial pilot who lived. Ask me anything.

EDIT 1: Full Story here.

ON THE GROUND, JUST THE BEGINNING Okay. I knew this question would be asked. So bare with me. The aircraft impacted the ground around 12:30am. Emergency first responders didn't get to us until 4am. Now within that 3 and a half hours, a lot occurred. After the plane hit the ground, the winds on the ground continued to blow the parachute which dragged the aircraft backwards for 1.7 miles. Now it was not flat terrain. We are talking canyons, valleys, hills, and gullies. The winds were strong enough to pull us up and down these valleys and hills. It skipped off the Earth like a rock across the water. Getting airborne again and again. Each impact unknowingly harder and harder. Not knowing where we were going was the scariest moment of my life. I really thought eventually the plane would fall and we would be killed from the impacted. But suddenly the plane stopped. At that moment, we decided to bail out. I unbuckled my harness and so did he. Once I got my door unlatched, I harnessed all my energy to lift myself out. As soon as I attempted to get out, the plane lifted off the ground from the blowing winds. I fell to the ground but soon realized my instructor was not with me. I was laying face down in the sand unable to breathe or move from the pain. Eventually, I found strength to get on my feet.

OUT OF THE PLANE I'll continue here. So I was lying on my belly, face in the sand. I could tell I was on the side of a hill from the down sloping grade. In the background, I could hear the sound of the aircraft crunching against the rocky terrain. The wind was blowing so hard. At this point, I knew I had done some really bad damage to my back. Breathing was very difficult and everything in my back felt like someone stabbing me over and over. At this point, I contemplated just lying here and giving up. Let the darkness take me. But I quickly realized that this isn't over for me. My instructor suddenly caught my attention. He was still in the aircraft on that roller coaster of death. Laying on my stomach, I tried pushing myself up with my arms but my whole body bent at my spine. That didn't feel good. So I rolled over. On my back, very uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, I put one foot underneath me and mustered my way onto my feet.

TO YOUR FEET SOLDIER Now standing up, I really got a look at what I was up against. The terrain was incredibly rough. All around me were rocks and deep valleys. But I could only see as far as my night vision would allow. Off in the distance, I could hear the plane crashing along with the fierce winds blowing past my ears. So I started to walk with the winds. In the direction of my instructor. Let me tell you, walking with a broken back in rough terrain is not ideal. My progress was probably slower than my grandma trying to walk up the stairs. My breathing was terrible. Completely unable to take a full breath. After tackling going down the valley, I took a break. And then going up was the most difficult. Apparently Texas is known for their thick bushes. I had no time to find my way around them so I went through. Big mistake. The pants I was wearing soon became shredded and my legs began to bleed. At this point, my adrenaline has kicked in.

LITTLE HOPE So I continued to walk into the night not really seeing where I was going. All I was doing was following the winds and listening for the aircraft. I was becoming extremely dehydrated and my mouth was severely dry. It was still very warm. As I got to the top of a hill, I could see the aircraft. It was stuck in a valley against a bush. So I quickened my pace and started yelling out to my instructor. I was pleading for him to get out of the aircraft in fear that the winds would carry the plane further. With no response from him, I felt the winds pick up from behind and grab the parachute. That parachute lifted into the air like a kite and pulled the aircraft through the bush and up the valley. Faster than I could chase after. At that moment, I fell to my knees. I wanted to die. I wanted to give up. I had to idea when it would all end. I pleaded for death. I remember asking if there was a God, please take my life now. The exhaustion had set in and the pain was growing thicker. But then for some reason, I started thinking about my life and how I still had so much to accomplish. So much to live for. I didn't want my life to be over. So I got back on my feet and continued hiking. Now you're probably saying, dude, get to the end already. So here we go...

FINDING MY INSTRUCTOR Back on my feet, I walked in a daze. At times my eyes aren't even open. I was so exhausted. The one thing keeping me going was my instructor. I had to get him out. But now the plane was out of sight. No where to be seen. I couldn't even hear anything, the winds were so deafening. I'm staring at the ground when I find a piece of the composite from the aircraft. That gave me a boost of motivation. I was catching up or at least going the right way. At the top of a hill, I saw down below the aircraft. It had stopped except this time it was snagged on something. And I could hear the rattling as I got closer. The parachute had pulled the plane into a barbed wire fence and it was doing everything it could to rip it off. Finally. I caught him. I tried calling to him from afar but didn't get an answer. Maybe he didn't hear me. But as I approached the plane, I suddenly saw his condition inside the cockpit. He was stretched out across both seats with his face down in the right seat and his legs dangling outside the aircraft towards the top of the wings suspended somehow. The lighting was terrible so I didn't get a good look at first. I quickly approached his side and after opening his door, he began cry out for my help. He kept pleading me to make it stop. I tried telling him the plane was stuck and not going anywhere but that damn parachute was still tugging and lifting the nose off the ground. I had a brilliant idea that I would catch the parachute and bring it down. Not very bright...

HELPLESSNESS I decided to climb over the barbed wired fence, miraculously. The parachute was swinging back and forth very high above me. Way out of my reach. The Kevlar rope leading to it was so tight and tense that I couldn't even move it. Tighter than a guitar string. I witnessed the winds die down and the parachute fall to the ground so I quickly tried to grab it. As I'm holding on to it and trying to pull it together, the winds start blowing and completely rip it out of my hands. It sends me down to the ground. I'm only 165 lbs so I knew my tiny body had no chance against this beast. So I return to my instructor knowing he needed my assistance. As I approach him, he is moaning in pain and tells me he can't breathe. With his face down in the bottom of the seat, I quickly searched for a cushion I knew we had brought along for additional padding. With the cushion in hand, I brace his neck and lift his head out of the seat placing the cushion underneath. I knew that wouldn't be very helpful after seeing his condition. His body was twisted. His chest was facing towards the tail of the plane while his hips were facing forward. His arms were broken in several places and tangled in the cable wiring. Yet he kept asking me to pull him out. I tried explaining my back was broken but without hesitation, I attempted to lift him out. He was so heavy. I had no strength to even move him. And I feared hurting him even more. At that moment, I switched to survival mode.

SURVIVAL To be continued...it is late...I'll finish tomorrow when I have time.

Hey /u/longitudinalynhanced, can you please format your OP into paragraphs? It is impossible to read like that.

Much, thank you! Your story is fascinating, I know you mentioned going to sleep -- I don't have any questions, but I will be eagerly following if you choose to continue. I hope all is well with you now