It started as a normal weekend for the family of influencers whose pilot friend took them on a sightseeing trip over the Uintah Mountains in Utah. It ended with that plane crashing onto a lake beach. Their travel horror story was caught on camera.
As the now popular YouTube video started I was immediately annoyed. This family of influencers (who is dripping with cash) was so freaking annoying. Think Mormon Kardashians. I could barely get through the first part of the video. But, I am glad I did. There’s a neat story here and my first impression of the family may have been wrong.
The Mikesell family is a Utah-based who appears to have made a pile of money from the Mom, Betsy, who is one of the founders of a very successful bedding company, Beddy’s. They and their kids now also document much of their lives as influencers on various platforms like YouTube, TikTok, IG, etc. And while I am no fan of influencer families and the IG life, this family does seem relatively genuine once you get past some of the “IG-cringe” that I am conditioned to be irritated by.
As the Cessna T210M plane cruised over Moon Lake it appeared to lose power after being buffeted by some turbulence. Shad Feild, the pilot, remained calm and advised the passengers something was wrong. The family initially thought he was joking. He was not. He then advised them to hold on as he was putting the plane down near the beach of the lake.
The first part of the video ends with a bang as the plane hits the beach.
But then the video takes an interesting turn as it appears to be narrated by one of the many people on the beach where the plane landed and who helped respond. The tone of the video changes and it becomes quite compelling (religious overtures, notwithstanding).
It describes and shows the aftermath of the crash. Everyone survived, but the family’s patriarch, Gentry Mikesell, along with the pilot, Shad Feild, suffered severe injuries (including spinal injuries and broken bones) and were ultimately life-flighted to the hospital.
The incident, which occurred in late 2020, was followed up with a more detailed accounting of their experiences as several family members emotionally described the crash and its aftermath. You can see both videos, below.
The Crash: Video of the pre-flight, crash, and aftermath
The Aftermath: Family describes the crash in more detail
I am glad to see the family had a positive outcome and wish them the best.
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may also earn commissions from other affiliate programs as applicable.
15 comments
The beautiful kids and mother look healthy enough which is wonderful. Hopefully they continue to live honorable no be good examples for us.
This family is so Blessed to be alive. The injuries that they sustained omg. GOD was definitely with them!!!
If God was truly withy them, they wouldn’t have crashed. Duh.
Really? God never promised us a rose garden life but what he does do is keep us in his eternal arms. This is worldly life and it belongs to the devil.
Eternal life belongs to God and he gives all of us choices. Believe or not to believe.
People survive and die and crash and arrive safely through ZERO intervention of a non-existent “god.” There is absolutely no correlation between faith, ANY faith, and random outcomes like plane crashes. Religion has been and remains the most toxic single force in the world today.
So those people who die in plane crashes, God forgot about them? Or was it His will they meet a violent death (think Ethiopian max 8) so they could be with Him for eternity without a chance to even say goodbye to their earthly loved ones?
You lost me at “influencersâ€, today’s jargon for ego-centric narcissists.
God said in the beginning of the Bible, So God created the heavens & earth and life is good!
He never said it would be PERFECT!
A ‘family of influencers’?? What a disgusting phrase. People who are influenced by cute and cuter on the internet are to be pitied. They LOOK like a family of influencers and I’m glad they have a reason to get up in the morning. Glad they didn’t die in the crash and that they were able to attract all kinds of attention with a lame-brain video.
Stupid to believe in a divine hand in this..it was an accident and the pilot got his passengers to land safely.
I’m amazed by the people here who just know for DARNED CERTAIN that God doesn’t exist. What unbelievably stupid things people will say–pathetically, astonishingly stupid!
You are a human being on a tiny planet and you know nothing at all. You’ll be dead in decades. Who are you to say what others have or have not encountered? Who are you to say what could possibly exist in this universe or the infinite number of other universes and dimensions that could exist?
The people who hate on those who claim God had a hand in this doth protest too much. If you were really not a believer you wouldn’t care at all, you wouldn’t give it a second though–like my dad, who was a true atheist. You sure wouldn’t go on the forums with your precious little polemics. You are likely just angry at God. Perhaps disappointed that you had a bad experience growing up. You believe in him all too much and are just throwing your fit. It’s pathetic, though, what such hatred does to you. Leads to illogical, double digit IQ mindsets.
So glad that they survived the crash. The pilot appears to have attempted to make a left banking turn at the last moment and at that speed, they immediately stalled and crashed. I think it he’d kept the aircraft level and left the landing gear up, they would have skidded to a smoother landing. I know he did his best though.
I cannot understand why after the crash they’re all sitting being treated right next to the plane… how dumb can you be? Now I’m no expert but I know enough to know that a plane that has just crashed can catch on fire or explode at any moment. I’ve seen a plane crash into water 1 minute or so after it had crash landed it suddenly blew up & it was floating on water. They got very lucky indeed
Happy they survived… God gave us all free will. If they choose to fly then anything could have happened… Even in tragedy, we put our faith into practice.. and if something goes terribly wrong God is still there with us to pick up the pieces and continue on… knowing our Faith and Hope and Prayers will bring us back home again….. and we will do it all over again…
Any landing where everyone walks, or is carried away, alive is a good landing.
That said, the aircraft was fully loaded, flying to low, to slow, with gear extended, at altitude (density altitude?). The bank resulted in additional loss of lift. Density altitude must be considered when flying at altitude. Thin air compromises thrust generated by the prop. Flying at low altitude carries with it increased risk because your chance in recovering (stall through loss of lift) or landing an aircraft in an emergency situation is greatly reduced.
I too have an issue with the term “influencer”, and social media in general. More bad seems to come from these platforms than good. Be of strong mind and body so that you can live your own life far away from these “influencers”. I will save this fight for another day.