The day before Christmas Eve, Hendersonville (NC) Tribune newspaper ran a story that will reach the heart of everyone who loves and values general aviation.
The story started when Tyler Kilpatrick, a University of North Carolina-Asheville student, went to Cuernavaca, Mexico, about 53 miles south of Mexico City on a student exchange program. Tyler loved Cuernavaca and her host family, but she was brutally stabbed by a taxi driver, suffering lung punctures and serious injuries to other major organs. Her father came down to help his daughter through several weeks of critical hospital care.
Now we switch to one Mike Summey of Asheville. Mike is a story in and of himself. I wrote part of his story myself and it was published earlier this year in AOPA Pilot magazine. Mike is a self-made multimillionaire who flies a recently rebuilt—new engines, avionics and more—King Air.
After Tyler’s plight became public, Mike’s 27 year old son—a pilot himself—said, “Dad, we could bring them home for Christmas.†Mike quickly agreed and damned if they didn’t do it!
The next few days involved whirlwind negotiations between Mike and two governments. Eventually, with the help of Mike’s senator, and with special cooperation from Mexico, and trip charts donated by Jeppesen, all the arrangements were made. Mike and Jason even took a North Carolina physician, Dr. Robert Wells, with them after Wells first discussed Tyler’s condition with the Mexican physicians.
Mike, Jason, and Dr. Wells flew some 1,100 miles the first day overnighting at Brownsville, TX. The next day they flew 500 miles to Cuernavaca, picked up Tyler and flew back to Asheville, stopping in Brownsboro again for paperwork. As Mike told me, “It made for a long day.â€
Mike tells me this was one of the most rewarding experiences with which he has ever been involved, and I can tell you that he’s been involved in a lifetime of rewarding experiences.
What a story!
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