Why Is This Man Smiling? He's One Lucky Guy

RELATED: 33 STARTUPS THAT FAILED ON TAKEOFF
THIS FROM THE FROM THE JACKSON HOLE DAILY TODAY: Plane Crashes At Charles Peet's Ranch On Takeoff:

An experimental plane crash-landed in a field southeast of Jackson — at a ranch called the Grumpy Moose — on Friday.

The pilot, 80-year-old Charles Peet, of Jackson, was uninjured in the crash, but cut his arm on broken glass climbing out.

“Fortunately, I’m not dead,” Peet said. Peet, who built the single-engine plane from a kit, was taking off from a grass strip at his ranch, the Grumpy Moose, near Highway 191 and Bryan Flat Road. After reaching an altitude of about 100 feet, the left wing of the Zenith 701 lost lift and stalled. The left wing hit the ground first and the plane cartwheeled, landing nose down, Peet said. “I thought all along that it would build up speed and I’d be doing fine, but it just stalled, spun over and spit,” he said.

“The worst thing you can feel is fear.”

Teton County Sheriff’s dispatchers received a witness’ call about the crash at 3:22 p.m. After impact, Peet said he was “totally disoriented.” “Where is the door handle?” he asked himself. After clambering out of the plane, Peet walked back to the end of the airstrip to pick up his ATV so he could drive to the ranch house to tell his wife, Marty Peet.

When asked how she reacted, he said, “She’s used to me.” Peet drove back in the ATV with his wife to the scene of the crash, where Jackson Hole Fire/EMS and Teton County Sheriff’s emergency personnel were waiting. With the plane resting on its roof, emergency crews were worried about fuel draining out of the engine. They called a wrecker to right the aircraft. In the meantime, Peet was instructed by sheriff’s deputies to call the National Transportation Safety Board to report the accident.

Peet built the yellow plane from a kit in his barn and has been flying it for two years. On Friday, he flew the plane over from Driggs and landed safely at the Grumpy Moose. After having lunch at the ranch, he wanted to go up and fly again.

Don't know about Peet, but I would have been down on my knees thanking God for my lucky stars.  That's my idea of a very close call.