By Brandon Evans | Published Sunday, October 18, 2009
More than a week after a twin-engine turboprop plane propelled into a pasture near Aurora, three of the four occupants remain hospitalized in Fort Worth.
The crash occurred on the afternoon of Oct. 6 amid cloudy and windy conditions. About 2:30 p.m., pilot Rod Lawrence reported to air traffic controllers that he was quickly losing fuel pressure and both engines had failed. Witnesses called 911 and reported that a plane looked like it was going down.
Emergency responders from several agencies located the downed and battered plane in a pasture near Currie Road. The plane plowed through a water tank on its fall to the ground.
Lawrence remains hospitalized at Harris Methodist in Fort Worth. Passenger Jerry Namy, president of Texland Petroleum, also remains in Harris Methodist. They have both been moved out of the intensive care unit.
And Kendall Hill, an attorney with an office in Decatur, was still in the intensive care unit at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth as of Friday.
Friend and business associate John Jose, an attorney in Fort Worth, said visitation to Hill has been limited to immediate family members so he can continue to rest as much as possible.
"We're all hopeful he will make a full recovery," Jose said. "But it's kind of day to day right now. We don't expect him to be released anytime soon."
Hill suffered injuries to his collarbone, a fractured right arm and broken ribs. Doctors are still looking for internal injuries.
The only one of the four people on board the plane to be released so far from the hospital is Robert Schumacher, the plane's owner and a part owner of Texland Petroleum.
The plane was on its way back to Fort Worth after departing from Oklahoma City. Namy and Hill were checking on some thoroughbred horses they own in Oklahoma.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating why both engines on the plane failed. Such an investigation might take months before completion.
