WILSON — The survival of five out of six jumpers after the Frontier Skydivers plane crash Aug. 1 is still being called “a miracle” on Beebe Road.

All a local farm family and some of their friends know is that the crash underlined the value of the lifesaving classes most of them had taken in the months and years before that Sunday afternoon.

Wilson School Superintendent Michael Wendt and several others were baling hay on his 33-acre farm near Hollands International Airport when the Cessna 185 went down and split in several pieces in a wooded area next door, just off the airport runway.

Wendt and those in the hayfield were first on the crash scene.

“If anybody believes in divine intervention, maybe God had His hand in this,” he said.

Wendt and his two sons, Stephen, 26, who is a teacher and coach, and Matthew, 21, were among those near the crash site that afternoon. Joining them was Wendt’s father, Ronald, owner of the 80-acre Morningdale Farms in Cambria, and family friends Ricky Bellinger of Gloversville and Nikki Curry of Ransomville.

Wendt, his sons and Bellinger all have taken classes in lifesaving techniques, and Matthew Wendt had just taken a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training course in June so he could work in the Wilson High School fitness center.

Most of them were in a corner of the field near the airport when the plane went down.

“We had six people there helping out, most with medical training, before any emergency staff even arrived,” Stephen Wendt said.

“As a father I was proud of my kids,” Michael Wendt said. “Stephen was there first and immediately began assessing the situation.”

Stephen, who is a track coach, is certified in CPR and works as an earth science teacher in Gloversville. He said he took off at a full sprint into the woods and immediately began calling out. People began calling back.

They feared the worst, but the voices they heard gave them hope they could help.

Using their training, they did what they could.

The Wendts said their prayers go out to the family of Thomas “Toma” Medbury, of Akron, a flight instructor for the Frontier Skydivers who died six days after the crash in Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo.

Michael and son, Matthew Wendt, provided lifesaving CPR and chest compressions to Medbury at the crash site.

“We did get a chance to visit the Medbury family, and they thanked us,” Michael Wendt said. “It was important to us that he had that second chance, a chance for him to get to the hospital.”

Plane ‘just broke’

“I can still visualize it,” the superintendent said of the crash. “When we saw the plane hit, it just broke off into pieces. We knew this was not a good thing.”

Matthew Wendt—who was at the house, not in the field — said he’s been familiar with the buzzing of the skydiving plane since the family moved into the homestead 10 years ago. He heard the buzzing stop, then heard the crashing of the plane into the trees.

Like the rest of his family, he, too, began running toward those in need.

Although the plane broke into five pieces, the “soft landing” in the trees upon takeoff, about 50 feet past the end of the 3,000-foot grass runway, is believed to have helped save the lives of most of the passengers. A door that came open on takeoff is being blamed on distracting the pilot, and causing him to lose control. Federal investigators will spend the next few months taking a detailed look at the crash.

Stephen Wendt said that when he arrived he found pilot Paul E. Gath sitting on the wing and one of the passengers, a woman later determined to be Tonya Tiede, upside down in the fuselage, which had been separated from the pilot seat and the engine.

“The woman who was upside down was pinned,” he recalled. “The EMT [passenger and Buffalo firefighter Michael Maly Jr.] was stabilizing her. When my father got there, with my father on the left side and I on the right, we picked up the back end of the plane so [Maly] could remove [Tiede].”

“We found four, then five that were going to be OK,” Michael Wendt said.

After they found Tiede, Stephen Wendt turned and noticed Medbury, who was badly hurt. He wasn’t breathing and had no pulse.

“I started doing breathing and compressions, and then Matt arrived,” Michael Wendt said.

When Matthew arrived, he said, he could clearly hear his father counting out loud, and knew Medbury must be the most severely injured.

“I figured this was where I was needed,” the younger Wendt said. “My dad gave compressions and I started giving breaths.”

“We just didn’t know if we were making a difference, but I will never forget, all of sudden Michael Maly said, ‘I think I’ve got a pulse,’” Matthew Wendt said.

“I laid my head on his chest, and I could hear his heart beating,” Michael Wendt said.

They stopped the CPR and gave breaths until emergency medical technicians arrived.

“It was an emotional experience,” Michael Wendt said. “I encourage everyone to learn CPR.”

He said Stephen also had the presense of mind to go to the end of the runway and lead rescuers to the crash site.

Fast reaction praised

The Wendts praised the lightning-fast reaction of the “true professionals” who took over on the scene. Three Mercy Flight crews and three ambulance crews provided assistance.

Stephen said he has been out with the Frontier Skydivers and that Joseph King, one of the passengers who was injured, had been his instructor.

“Frontier Skydivers have always been courteous and polite,” Michael Wendt said. “We’ve had nothing but positive experiences. This is just a very unfortunate event.”

Stephen said he was “elated” last weekend to see a couple of skydivers whose chutes he recognized up and jumping again.

“We were fortunate that we were granted the opportunity to provide assistance, much like anyone would do in our situation,” Michael Wendt said. “I’m proud I live in a community like Wilson. It’s a culture of assistance where people step up to the plate, and it has rubbed off on us.

“The first thing I thought as I was walking away was that I had the opportunity to help. I always thought I have so much work to do, but I’m really glad I took that CPR course. It really works, and [I] encourage everyone else to take these courses.”

“People help when there are people in need,” Michael Wendt added. “They laugh that we went right back to work [baling hay] after this happened, but we also needed to decompress and focus on other tasks. Not just sit and obsess about a traumatic experience.”

“We’re just ordinary people in an extraordinary situation,” Stephen said, “and we did what we were supposed to do.”

“Miracles happen, but CPR works,” his father said. “I always encourage our administrators to take the free classes we offer at our school.”

Sheriff James R. Voutour honored Michael Wendt and his sons during a School Board meeting Tuesday with a certificate of recognition for their efforts at the scene.

“I highly recommend that people get [CPR] training. There’s a bunch of places that offer it,” Voutour said. “But even if you don’t know it, doing something is better than doing nothing.”