He’s still wondering how, but Kelowna resident Kelly Mulzet walked away without a scratch after the plane he was on crash-landed near Beaverdell Tuesday night.
A Christmas tree farm is partially credited for saving Mulzet and his group of friends, who were flying back to the Okanagan after a weekend trip to Lake Havasu, Arizona.
The plane went down between Rock Creek and Beaverdell. The tree farm was the pilot’s only option for landing.
“We went straight down into a field. We hit hard. So hard we bounced back up into the air.”
Mulzet said the pilot hit several Christmas trees on the way down, but miraculously maneuvered away from larger trees that could have torn the plane in half.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but the pilot told Mulzet it was likely some sort of fuel malfunction, as the tank appeared to be completely empty, despite fueling up a short time earlier.
Mulzet said it’ll be his last time taking to the air in a twin-engine plane.
“No more. I’m flying commercial.”