Alva man critically injured in fatal plane crash
November 5, 2017

Marione Martin
Aerial shot of Share Medical Center's site after the light plane crash late Saturday afternoon. The aircraft went down in a canyon just north of the road that goes behind the hospital. The lights on the vehicles at the east parking lot entrance are all pointed toward the crash scene.
Note: This story was updated at 1:00 a.m. Nov. 5.
Cory Washburn, 39, of Alva was badly burned in a plane crash Saturday afternoon. The pilot, David Thomas Chael, 61, of Enid, died at the scene from massive injuries, according to the Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred at 5:31 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, near Share Medical Center at the south edge of Alva. According to Share CEO Kandice Allen the plane crashed in the canyon just beyond the road that runs behind the hospital. Although the medical center lost electrical power, the emergency generator came online until power could be restored.
Kirk Washburn said his son Cory was flown by AirEvac to the Integris Burn Center in Oklahoma City with burns over 85 percent of his body. He was admitted in critical condition. Cory’s parents, Kirk and Drue, and his wife Sarah traveled to Oklahoma City to be near him.
About a week ago Cory purchased the Beechcraft Bonanza, an American-made single engine plane. He needed 15 hours of dual instruction (flying with a certified instructor) before he could fly alone. The plane has a retractable gear (the wheels retract in flight) and requires instruction “in type.”
Saturday Washburn and Chael, the instructor, were coming in for a landing at the Alva Regional Airport. They were near Share Medical Center when the engine cowling (cover) popped up in front of the windshield and blinded them. According to Kirk, Cory was handling the controls at the time, but Chael took over just before they crashed.
A report from the Highway Patrol says the landing gear deployed and the front wheel struck a power line. The aircraft came to rest on its top. Both occupants were exiting the plane when it exploded.
Drue Washburn put out a plea for prayers on Facebook saying, “He’s being mediflighted to Integris Burn Center after a plane wreck. That’s all I know. He crawled out and was talking.” She asked that people not try to call Cory’s wife as she was on her way to Oklahoma City. “Just pray.”
The plane crash also took out electrical power to a large part of Alva including the downtown area. Although power was restored to much of the city about two hours later, OG&E was reporting 326 customers still had no power as of 7:20 p.m. The outage website gave an estimate of 11:48 p.m. for power to be fully restored.











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