11 year old girl miraculously survives a plane crash after her dad shields her from the impact, by giving a ‘bear hug.’ “I’m alive because of him,” she says.
On Nov 13, 2021, 11-year-old girl, Laney Perdue boarded a 20-minute flight with her father, Mike (43 year old) who is known to give her the best ‘dad hugs,’ which she also calls ‘bear hugs,’ in the world. But little did she know that the same hug would one day save her life.
It was around 1:30 pm and the next thing Laney remembers is their plane on the grass, as she feels her dad’s bear hugs, arms wrapped tightly around her, as if he tried to protect her. “I had a feeling in my stomach that the plane just dropped,” she said.
All the other passengers, including Mike and the pilot, 55 years old, were killed in the crashing, leaving Laney with only 11 broken bones and a cut on her mouth.
Laney’s mother, Christie, when she heard about the crash, rushed to the hospital, and found her daughter holding her hand just as tight as she held hers. Laney had a subtle feeling that her dad may have passed away, but she still asked her mother to confirm. After finding out, she couldn’t hold her tears back but knew that her father did his best to protect her.
After recovering from surgeries on her jaw and foot, Laney walked with crutches behind her dad’s casket. The community supported the family in their tough time through donations and physical presence.
Laney and the family, including Christie and their other two kids, now have a book on memories on their kitchen counter for them to write down and honor Mike daily.
