DETROIT – An Indiana doctor killed in a plane crash in northern Michigan had a passion for flying that propelled him back into the cockpit after a crash that killed his wife and two children nearly eight years ago, a colleague and close friend said.
Dr. Stephen Hatch, 46, and his current wife, Kim, died in the Friday evening crash near Charlevoix that left his 16-year-old son, Austin, seriously injured. A hospital official said Austin was in critical condition Saturday afternoon at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.
Hatch and Austin, who was then 8, survived the earlier crash near Fort Wayne. Dr. G. David Bojrab said they had been returning from the family's summer home on Walloon Lake — the same place they were flying to Friday when their single-engine plane flew into a garage near the Charlevoix Municipal Airport.
"He was such a strong proponent of flying and teaching people to fly. ... I think he felt compelled to continue his passion," said Bojrab, a partner with Hatch in Pain Management Associates in Fort Wayne.
"He felt compelled to show people that accidents do happen. He didn't want people to look in the other direction."
A 2005 federal report on the September 2003 crash found inaccurate preflight planning resulted in the plane not having enough fuel. The National Transportation Safety Board determined a utility pole the airplane hit during its forced landing, a low ceiling and dark night also contributed to the crash.
Bojrab said his friend disputed the report's findings, believing equipment failure caused the crash.
"When he crashed, it was an inferno, which makes you wonder how he could have been out of gas," Bojrab said.
Hatch saved Austin, but his other children — Lindsay, 11, and Ian, 5 — died along with his wife, Julie, 38.
"His wife and two children were in flames and he was never able to reach them," Bojrab said. "Steve reached over to his son who was sitting in front with him and tossed him out the window to save his life."
Bojrab said Austin was "the apple of his dad's eye," and Hatch took great pride in his son's athletic prowess. Austin, a junior at Canterbury School in Fort Wayne, Ind., committed earlier this month to play basketball at the University of Michigan, where his father and mother went to school.
Austin told the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne for a story published last week that he talked to Michigan coach John Beilein by phone and accepted a full-ride scholarship.
"It was a very special moment for me," Hatch told the newspaper. "There was no reason to wait. There's nothing I don't like about their program, and I couldn't turn it down."
Stephen Hatch said Austin "started thinking about it in elementary school, and it's neat to see it get to this point."
Beilein said in a statement that the university was saddened to hear about the tragedy affecting the Hatches. "Austin needs as much support right now as possible and I know he will be in the thoughts and prayers of the Michigan family during this difficult time," Beilein said.
Bojrab said Stephen Hatch had planned to go to Spain to celebrate his parents' 50th wedding anniversary with the rest of his family, but he canceled the trip to spend time with Austin and his adult stepchildren.
"Steve was a very big family man," Bojrab said.
Another of his passions was Smith Field Airport, a small, historic airport near Fort Wayne. Bojrab said Hatch led a campaign several years ago to save it and bought the Smith Field Service Center and its flight school.
"He saved the property from being developed commercially," Bojrab said, adding that Hatch was instrumental in getting it on the National Register of Historic Places.
NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said investigators were on the scene Saturday and would be examining the aircraft, interviewing witnesses and requesting air traffic control communications and radar data. He expected a preliminary report within 10 days and a final report determining a cause within 18 months.
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