A pilot and his wife narrowly escaped death after their single-engine plane suffered engine failure and crashed into woodland in eastern North Carolina.
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Dustin Davis was flying with his wife, Autumn, on October 7, alongside their two dogs, Sophie and Royce.
The couple had attended church earlier that day and were traveling to their beach house in Ocean Isle when their flight took a terrifying turn.
Plane Crash Leaves Couple Stranded in North Carolina Woodland
The couple were flying at approximately 6,000 feet when their Piper PA-32 aircraft suddenly experienced engine failure.
"The engine just wasn't producing power," Dustin recalled.
Dustin attempted to contact air traffic control, but the nearest airport was too far away for an emergency landing.
With darkness setting in and visibility rapidly deteriorating, the couple faced an increasingly desperate situation.
There were no suitable roads nearby, leaving Dustin with little choice but to attempt a crash landing.
As the aircraft descended, Dustin spotted trees ahead and pulled the nose upward in an effort to reduce the impact.
The plane struck the woodland belly-first before coming to rest approximately six feet above the ground.
"We didn't know if it was going to be a field, we didn't know if it'd be trees. We didn't know if it'd be a couple houses with no lights on, a barn," Dustin added.
"I got us down to about 74 knots, which is as slow as I could get without going into a stall. When we made that turn and saw the trees, I pulled back."
Couple and Their Dogs Survive Terrifying Emergency Landing
Despite the severity of the crash, Dustin and Autumn escaped with relatively minor injuries.
Dustin suffered a black eye after striking his head against the dashboard, while Autumn experienced soreness in her neck and back.
Remarkably, their two dogs emerged from the wreckage without any injuries.
"Seeing that we were only six feet off the ground, I could not tell you the joy and happiness," Dustin continued. "We got our dogs and jumped out of that plane."
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Reflecting on the near-death experience, Dustin said he now feels like he is living in "the bonus rounds" of life.
He described October 7 as a "new start" for himself and his wife, adding that they "want to take advantage of it".
