A man lucky to be alive after the small plane he and his wife were flying in went down in Broward County said his faith in God and his training as a military pilot saved them.
Ken McKenzie was recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital after his ordeal Tuesday, and said he's not going to let what happened stop him from doing what he loves, flying.
"A little lightheaded, just grateful to be here," McKenzie said in a hospital interview. "The event was fairly traumatic as you would expect but the folks here at the hospital are doing a great job. The best way to sum it up is grateful to be alive."
McKenzie has a ways to go in his recovery from the burns he suffered when his light aircraft went down in the Everglades on Sunday. The aircraft turned into an inferno just after Ken and his wife made their amazing escape. Ken is just fortunate that he's around at all to talk about the moments when an oil pressure problem led to the engine trouble that forced him to land on a levee.
"It happened really quickly. Most accidents you talk about spacial disorientation where time slows down," he said. "This didn't slow down, it was really fast. It was surprising, I didn't expect the aircraft to catch fire. We came to a stop and the aircraft was surrounded in flames."
The Canadian Air Force trained him and his time in commercial aviation also came into play when facing the emergency with his wife in the seat next to him.
"Well the nice thing about training is it should be so good you don't think. And one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was the time that I had spent in the Air Force," he said.
Local
His wife, Sonia, says their faith also kept them calm.
"I guess when you know what your future is it's not scary. Our whole family has the same faith, we are Christians, we believe in God," she said.
"Immediately, the first thing that comes to mind is hero," daughter Monika McKenzie said.
"Extremely well, I think he's doing extremely well all things considered," JMH's Dr. Carl Schulman said.
McKenzie said when he's recovered he wants to get back in the cockpit. His wife is working on her private pilot's license and said she now sees the importance of knowing emergency procedures.
"Having moments like this in your life tends to bring your life into perspective," Ken McKenzie said.
