Menu
Wing and a prayer: Morehouse man recalls near-fatal plane crash
MOREHOUSE -- For John Launius, 2015 is a year to remember: He gained a renewed appreciation for life and learned just how hard his head is.
Early Oct. 7, Launius, a licensed pilot since 1991, took off in his Cessna airplane from the Dexter airport. Launius had purchased the airplane in May and said he was still getting familiar with it.
"I went up early that morning to get in a little night flight and see the sunrise," recalled Launius, who retired in January 2015 after working 33 years at the Sikeston Power Plant.
But shortly after takeoff, Launius' plane crashed. He said he has no memory of the plane going down. He does remember waking up and realizing he was hurt.
"When I first got out of the plane I thought I was in the woods. So I thought to myself I don't need to be wandering in the woods because it is still dark. So I got back in the plane thinking I would just sleep until daylight, then I thought I probably don't need to be doing that either."
Fortunately, Launius' plane had landed in a tree line, approximately 75 yards from a house. The injured pilot walked up to the door and asked for help.
It wasn't long before a Stoddard County ambulance arrived taking him first to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston then to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. There Launius would undergo nine hours of surgery, repairing his broken clavicle and extensive damage to his skull.
"My doctors and surgeons have told me, they just can't believe how well I have come along. Those injuries could easily have been fatal," Launius said. "You know how things just fall in place, well there just so happened to be a neurosurgeon out of New York visiting Saint Francis. He was there and used me as a teaching tool because they said they had never seen anything like what he did."
For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, log on to the electronic edition.