Father of Kansas crash survivor tells of stunning call

Father of Kansas crash survivor tells of stunning call

KANSAS CITY, Mo. â€" Ron Luce didn't recognize the voice of the woman who phoned to say his daughter Hannah was with her and was fine.

Her words didn't make any sense to the Texas minister and founder of a Christian organization that reaches out to troubled youths. How could Hannah be with this woman when she was on a plane bound for a Christian youth rally in Iowa?

"The way I discovered about my daughter and the plane accident was probably the most unscripted way you could imagine," Luce said Sunday during a news conference at University of Kansas Hospital, where his 22-year-old daughter was in serious condition with burns over 28% of her body. "I asked [the woman], 'Where's the plane?' She said it's off in the distance, and there are flames, there's smoke."

Hannah Luce is the only survivor among five people who were aboard a twin-engine Cessna 401 that crashed Friday afternoon northwest of Chanute, Kan. Three died at the scene, and a fourth, who Luce said helped his daughter walk from the wreckage to a nearby road, died early Saturday at a hospital in Wichita.

All five were on their way from Tulsa, Okla., to an Acquire the Fire rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was the last of 33 such events this year held across the U.S. by Teen Mania Ministries, which Luce said he created 25 years ago to reach out to troubled youths. The ministry is based in Garden Valley, Texas, where the Luce family lives.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victims as pilot Luke Sheets, 23, of Ephraim, Wis.; Austin Anderson, 27, of Ringwood, Okla.; Garrett Coble, 29, of Tulsa, Okla.; and Stephen Luth, 22, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Luce said Anderson, a former Marine who was burned over 90% of his b ody in the crash, was with Hannah Luce when she asked the woman to make the call.

Luce said he asked his daughter about reports that Anderson had pulled her from the wreckage, but "she just began to tear up" and didn't respond.

"I know Austin, he's that kind of guy," Luce said. "He served two tours in Iraq, and he was willing to give his life for his country. He was willing to give his life for a friend. He was always willing to go that extra mile."