Doctors Should Not Fly Private Planes: Dr. Stephen Hatch and Family Crash, Son Sole Survivor

(journalgazette.net)

Spotlight has time and again written about the prominent physicians whose life ended tragically in private plane crashes.  Whatever the correlation may be, there’s no denying it is too frequent and untimely.

Dr. Stephen Hatch and his family were traveling from Fort Wayne, Indiana to their summer home for the weekend, when the single-engine plane crashed leaving only the son fighting for his life.  Unfortunately, this was not the first time Dr. Hatch was in a plane crash:

What makes the tragedy even more troubling is, it isn’t the first time. In 2003, when Austin was only eight, his father, Dr. Stephen Hatch – a well-known physician with a passion for aviation – crashed a similar plane under similar circumstances. In that crash, the boy lost his mother, younger brother and older sister. (wthr.com)

Sixteen-year-old, Austin Hatch, is a basketball star in their hometown, and was facing a stellar future of playing for University of Michigan, Wolverines.  Now, he is in critical condition, fighting for his life while under a medically induced coma.

“They’re waiting for the brain swelling to go down,” Dr. G. David Bojrab told The Associated Press. “He has bruising to the brain, but there’s no structural damage as far as they can tell right now, so they’re hoping that’s a good sign and he’ll have a better recovery or a full recovery.” (news-sentinel.com)

See more about Dr. Stephen Hatch