Melvin L. Carpenter saved Lloyd H. Baker, Carol L. Jernigan, and Shirley A. Bowers from burning, Columbia Station, Ohio, May 24, 1967. The single-engine airplane in which Baker, 58, flight instructor was instructing Mrs. Jernigan, 35, and Mrs. Bowers, 35, crash-landed in a wooded area, tearing off the left wing. Fuel leaking from the wing tank was ignited and the engine caught fire, as did nearby trees. The aircraft’s occupants were injured seriously. Carpenter, 36, machine operator, heard the crash and ran to the plane. Flames two feet high covered the engine and were within two feet of the intact right wing, which also contained a fuel tank. Patches of flames were burning on the ground under the wing as Carpenter stepped up onto it and opened the cockpit’s only door. He extended his head and shoulders inside and withdrew Baker. Flames had burned through the firewall as Carpenter then inserted his upper body into the cockpit and removed Mrs. Jernigan. Flames were within 18 inches of the door as Carpenter again extended his head and shoulders into the cockpit, where heat was very intense and breathing was difficult. Other flames had burned through into the cockpit at the opposite side, and the front seat was afire. Carpenter drew Mrs. Bowers out of the airplane as two other men arrived. While Carpenter took Mrs. Bowers a safe distance away, the two men moved Baker and Mrs. Jernigan to the same area. The fuel line of the right wing tank then burned through, and escaping gasoline greatly increased the flames in the cockpit. Baker, Mrs. Jernigan, and Mrs. Bowers were hospitalized. 49628-5355
49628 – 5355
49628-5355