VANCOUVER, B.C. — The lone survivor of a plane crash that killed seven people in British Columbia is not deeply religious but he must have received help from above to survive against staggering odds, his brother said Tuesday.
“There’s no way he could have went through that and come down without some sort of help,” Michael Wilson said at a news conference at Vancouver General Hospital.
The brother said neither sibling is a strong believer and neither attend church regularly “but something was definitely with him to help him.”
Tom Wilson, 36, walked away from the Sunday morning crash that killed seven others, including the pilot and six of his co-workers.
Dr. John Reid was at a loss to explain how the man could not only survive, but suffer only burns to his face, hands and right thigh. There were no broken bones or internal injuries.
The term “remarkable” was used repeatedly to describe Wilson’s ordeal.
“It’s really quite remarkable he had no fractures and had no internal injuries,” said Reid, who is among several doctors and nurses caring for Wilson at the hospital’s burn and trauma unit.
“He is really making a remarkable recovery and, in fact, is in excellent spirits and has a very positive attitude about his recovery.”
The brother, who came from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., with other family members to be with his brother, said his injured brother was “grieving for the friends he’s lost.”
So far, he hasn’t talked about the crash and his family hasn’t asked.
“When’s he ready to talk about it, he’ll talk about it. It’s a traumatic thing. Maybe he doesn’t want to remember it. Maybe he does,” Michael Wilson said.
Dr. Anthony Papp, a burn specialist, suggested the man’s burns could have been much worse.
He said they are a type that normally heal on their own without surgery.
“These kind usually take two to three weeks to heal,” Papp said.
Michael Wilson said his brother, who is single and also lives in Fort Saskatchewan, does accounting work for his employer, Peter Kiewit Sons Co., a construction firm working on an hydroelectric development for Plutonic Power Corp. (TSX:PCC) in Toba Valley, north of Powell River.
He said his brother had been with the company for about 10 years and travelled a lot.
Rescuers who found a burned and bloodied Tom Wilson along the shoreline several hours after the crash said he told them he fled the burning wreckage moments before it exploded.
He walked several kilometres downhill, along a stream and through thick forest until he reached the beach where his rescuers spotted him.
Michael Wilson said he was amazed his brother survived.
“You look at the paper, you see the news, you look and you go, ‘How did he get out of there?”‘
Reid said his patient is expected to make a full recovery, but will likely stay in hospital for at least a few more days.
Meanwhile, the Transportation Safety Board and the B.C. Coroners Service continued their investigation.
RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said two coroners, a forensic identification investigator and two anthropologists from Simon Fraser University were at the crash site on Thormanby Island.
They removed the remains of all victims by midday Tuesday, said Jeff Dolan, director of regional operations for the B.C. Coroner’s Service.
Autopsy examinations were to begin Wednesday in Vancouver, including identifying the remains through DNA or dental analysis.
The plane crashed at high speed and burst into flames shortly afterwards.
One person survived the crash of a Grumman Goose plane that was enroute to a work site near Powell River.
After examining the scene on Monday, a transportation board spokesman said it appeared the plane was likely flying at a low altitude and trying to climb when it went into the trees in poor visibility. But it still wasn’t clear why the plane crashed.
Grief counsellors went to the energy project’s construction site to help workers cope with the deaths and the general contractor temporarily suspended operations in the province.
“It’s all based on how things are going with the grief counsellors up there and everyone’s state of mind and how they’re feeling about working,” said spokeswoman Elisha Moreno.
Sunday’s crash was the second this year involving one of Pacific Coastal’s Grumman Goose aircraft.
In August, five people were killed when another Goose crashed on Vancouver Island.
The Transportation Safety Board has yet to issue its report on the earlier crash.
Grumman Goose planes were first flown in 1937.
The ones operated by Pacific Coastal carry nine passengers and a pilot. Only 345 of the Second World War-era aircraft were built and according to aficionados, between 40 and 60 still operate.
Pacific Coastal has a fleet of 26 aircraft, nine of them float planes.
The airline had grounded its float plane fleet but spokesman Spencer Smith said they were considering resuming full operations Wednesday.
Incoming search terms:
- tom wilson air crash survival