Survivor

    Sitting next to the pilot in the co-pilot seat is considered the best seat in the plane, but flying above Canada's wildlife and open water beauty, made it seem that much sweeter for 16-year-old, Wichita native, Blake Floodman.
    A thin layer of clouds filled the sky but there was still enough visibility to see from the co-pilot seat fisherman on the water below bringing in their catch.
    From a remote Manitoba, Canada, fishing lodge after a weeklong fishing trip with his grandfather and uncle, Floodman departed on the plane known as the "Piper Navajo."
    Exhausted, sunburned, and wearing a Bass Pro Shop t-shirt, Floodman claimed his seat next to the pilot. It was June 11, 2002.
    "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! The pilot screamed.
    The fuel gage started to flash and the plane began to drop.
    "I thought I was going to die," Floodman said. "Everyone in the plane started saying 'I love you' to each other, we thought we didn't have a chance."  
    Floodman noticed the fuel gage was on empty. The pilot, Mark Tayfel, frantically began messing with the fuel wiring.
    "How many people survive a plane crash?" Floodman said, "Not too many."
    Both engines cut out after the plane missed the runway on its first emergency-landing attempt at Winnipeg Airport.
    "The plane kept dropping," Floodman said. "There were buildings and gas stations right under us that we barely missed."
    At the busy intersection of McPhillips Street and Logan Ave, in North Winnipeg, Canada, the plane landed on top of a meat delivery truck, slicing it in half.
    "I couldn't breathe," Floodman said. "There was a fire in the back of the plane, it was getting really hot and I needed to get out."
    The meat delivery truck eased the impact of the plane crash, allowing for the passengers, pilot, and Floodman to leave the scene alive.
    "If there would have been gas in the plane, it would have blown up, " Floodman said. "We all would have died."
    Floodman, now a 22-year-old, senior, was the first out of the plane. He knew his grandfather and uncle were still in the plane so he tried to get back in. Firemen pulled him away.  
    Floodman's 14-year-old sister, Paige Floodman, was at her high school volleyball practice in Wichita when she heard about the plane crash.
    "My babysitter came into practice and pulled me out," Floodman said. "She told me that I needed to know that my brother, grandpa, and uncle were all in a plane crash."
    Floodman found out that her brother had been checked into the hospital, but was released shortly after.
    "There was absolutely nothing wrong with him," Floodman said. "He left with a bruise, that just doesn't happen when you're in a plane crash."
    Floodman, now a 20-year-old junior, said she was really confused about what was happening at the time. She knew her brother was ok, but heard little on her grandpa and uncle.
    "I was out with my grandma and mom shopping when the hospital called and said my grandpa lost his leg," Floodman said. "That was probably the worst part."
    Chester Jones, Floodman's grandpa, spent 95 days in a Wichita hospital before he passed away.
    The Floodman family sued the pilot, Mark Tayfel, charging him with criminal negligence that caused death.  
    This Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 dates a year from when Tayfel was charged in 2007 with four counts of criminal negligence, the counts included: bodily harm, criminal negligence, causing death, and dangerous operation of an aircraft.
    Floodman's father, Mark Floodman, said the family can finally have some closure with what happened.
    "The pilot lost his flying license," Floodman said. "There was a possibility of him going to jail, but the trial still has not reached that point yet."
    Blake Floodman said Tayfel admitted to miscalculating the amount of fuel needed given the weather conditions, as well as flying the plane without a proper autopilot system.  
    "It was unnecessary," Floodman said. "If the plane would have had the right equipment none of this would have happened."
     The ruling from the court case was the first of its kind in Canada. Floodman said it now affects pilots who work for small Canadian charter services.
    Floodman survived a plane crash, a plane crash he thought he wasn't going to walk away from let alone live to tell about it.
    "I looked out the window thinking this is how I am going to die," Floodman said.  "It's amazing that I survived."