Carrboro man to return to scene of plane crash
A Carrboro man is set to drive cross-country to visit the location where he and his father crashed their plane a decade ago.
Posted — Updated"I'm ready to go," Blake Tedder said.
On Aug. 15, 2001, Tedder and his father, pilot Jerry Tedder, were flying in a single-engine plane over the Colorado Rockies when the plane stalled. Unable to climb in altitude, the plane crashed into the mountains. The plane caught fire and both men were burned on more than a third of their bodies.
"I have no idea how I didn't die," Blake Tedder, now 26, said. "I busted the door out of the plane. My seat belt was stuck. Dad freed it. We were screaming. It was absolutely horrifying."
The two were flown to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where they spent months recovering.
Three years following the crash, Jerry Tedder died from pancreatic cancer.
Blake Tedder plans to take his time on the road trip and get to the crash site on the anniversary of the crash. He said he wants to "spend some time there and just sit with the space and clear any energy that I needed to learn and really just move on from it."
Tedder works as a yoga instructor and also volunteers with Camp Celebrate, which helps children ages 7 to 15 build confidence after suffering burn injuries.
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