Utah plane crash survivors share their miracle in the sky story

MOUNTAIN HOME, Utah (KSL) — A small plane carrying six people crashed near Moon Lake in Duchesne County on Friday, and miraculously, everyone survived. The plane’s pilot spoke to KSL from his hospital room about the crash and what happened for all six people to survive.

Shadrach Feild shared that he trained a lot for a worst-case scenario, and while that training kicked in, he felt divine intervention’s hand.

“I absolutely know that God had his hand in this,” Shadrach Feild said. “It’s a miracle.”

When you see what’s left of Feild’s Cessna T210M, it’s hard to believe that everyone on board survived.

“For the terrain that we were in and how it all unfolded, it takes more than a good pilot to get through this,” he said.

Six people were on board the plane including Feild, his wife Jazlyn, their family friends Betsy and Gentry Mikesell, and their 16-year-old teenage twin sons, Brock and Boston Mikesell.

The group said they were out flying near Moon Lake on Friday morning.

“When I came over the corner over the lake, there was a lot of wind coming at me, which isn’t normally a big deal,” Feild said. “My plane — a Turbo charged 210 — has plenty of horsepower.

That’s when Feild said the engine gave out.

“I pushed the throttle in and there was no power,” he said. “It kept running, but there was just no power.”

“It took about 12 seconds from that point to the time we touched down,” said Betsy Mikesell, explaining that they only had moments to brace for impact.

Meanwhile, Shad prepared the plane and crew for an emergency landing.

“I remember telling them I would take care of them,” Feild said, holding back emotions. “We made it across the lake.”

“Because Shad was so calm, I just thought he was landing it. He never said, ‘we’re going to crash,’” Mikesell said.

As Shad looked for a landing spot, he spotted two possible locations. The first, he said, was a beach, but there were people on it and he feared his tires wouldn’t handle the sand well. The second option was an open field.

“I thought it would be better to try and land in the sage brush flat,” Feild said. “I didn’t want to flip over and hurt the people in the back.”

“For some reason in my mind, I was just so calm,” Mikesell said. “I just remember bracing and holding onto the seat in front of me.”

Mikesell said she was the first one out of the plane as nearby campers ran to their rescue.

“Someone said that you could feel angels everywhere, and I feel like that is what we experienced, “ Mikesell said. “Someone else said that it looked like we were just being carried down to the ground, and I swear that is literally what happened.”

“I lost my dad about four years ago, and I know that he helped,” Feild said. “I could feel him the whole time.”

Brock managed to walk away from the crash.

Betsy said Shad and Gentry both suffered T12 back injuries and remain hospitalized. Gentry also has a broken femur, tibia, and shattered ankle. Additionally, he suffered a broken nose and 3 fractures on his face.

Shad’s wife Jazyln broke her arm and wrist.

Boston, the other twin, fractured a hip.

And Betsy said she has four broken ribs on each side, a neck injury and bruised lungs.

Despite their injuries, they said they’re grateful to be alive and for the help of first responders and the campers who ran to their aid.

“Not only where we landed but that the plane died where it did — had it have been 45 seconds earlier, we all would’ve died,” Feild said. “There was nowhere to land 45 seconds earlier. It was God’s hand.”

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.

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