August 25th-EDON: Samuel Santa-Rita, owner of SRT Prosthetics and Orthotics, was the lone occupant of his N627RK aircraft as it crashed amid a sea of trees and plant life.
The 1992 Maule single-engine plane went down in a wooded area just east of State Route 49, on the property of Jim and Carol Coleman. Santa-Rita miraculously walked away with only minor injuries, to which he tended himself. The plane was not so fortunate, however.
The 46 year old Santa-Rita took off from a private airfield on the outskirts of Blakeslee, erected by the late Marvin Thiel, shortly before the accident. The craft turned during takeoff, losing altitude and going down roughly three miles outside of Edon around noon.