Amanda Bishop
Publisher/Editor
Three Hilliard residents remain hospitalized after a Thursday plane accident.
A total of six members of the Franklin family were onboard when the plane lifted left while landing at Davis Field in Folkston, Ga.
Michael and Vickie Franklin are in critical condition, according to Dan Leveton, UF Health Jacksonville manager of internal and external communications. Their son, Brenton Franklin, is also hospitalized, but an update on his condition was not available. Friends of the family reported that he suffered a broken femur and had surgery on it Friday morning.
His wife, Baylee Franklin, and their two daughters, ages 1 and 3, were examined and released from the hospital.
The family had traveled just north of Athens, Ga. for the day, according to the plane’s flight path information on Flightradar24. The plane left from North Georgia mid-afternoon. During landing, the plane lifted left, causing it to leave the runway just after 4 p.m. The plane came in contact with a tree and fuel spilled, causing a small fire.
According to Charlton County Sheriff Robert Phillips, firefighters from the Georgia Forestry Commission extinguished the flames. Charlton County firefighters and paramedics “rapidly arrived” according to Phillips and extracted one of the passengers. All six members of the Franklin family were alert at the crash scene, but Michael and Brenton, who had traveled in the front of the plane, were seriously injured. Trauma One helicopters airlifted them to UF Health Jacksonville. All of the family members were taken to the hospital.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration began their investigations into the crash today.
More emergencies occurred in Charlton County during the response to the plane crash, including a house fire and the search for a possibly injured bicyclist that was reported by CSX via one of its engineers.
“(Charlton County Emergency Management Agency) Director Bruce Young called on our Mutual Aid partnership with Camden County, Baker County and Nassau County for ambulance and firefighting,” Phillips shared. “Those counties responded quickly and we greatly appreciate their assistance.”
He added, “Three years ago we responded to a plane crash on (State Road) 121 across from Georgia Forestry and at that time we answered two other calls for emergency services which required mutual aid. They say it comes in threes some times.”