William Halpin, Jacob Appel, Shelly DeBerg (accepting on behalf of her husband Kelly), Chris Cooper
At last night’s City Council meeting, nine citizens were recognized for their efforts in aftermaths of two plane crashes that occurred in Eden Prairie last year. Jacob Appel, Christophe Cooper, William Halpin and Kelly DeBerg each received an Award of Valor from Mayor Phil Young for rendering aid at an August 12, 2009 plane crash on the property of the Cummins Grill House. The four employees of Hummingbird Aviation witnessed the crash from their offices at Flying Cloud Airport and raced to the scene of the burning airplane. They pulled the pilot out of the plane, used a garden hose to protect the historic Cummins Grill house from the encroaching flames and took photos of the crash site which aided in the subsequent investigation of the crash. Two people died in the crash.
Pilot Robert Fiske thanks rescuers Paul Ansolabehere, Christina Siefferman, Allen O'Day and Robert Schmidt. Not pictured: Robert Meyers
Two months later on October 5, Eden Prairie experienced a second plane crash, this time in the Cardinal Creek area. Five neighbors and passers-by responded to the crash and were able to pull the pilot from the burning plane to safety. For their roles in saving the pilot’s life, Robert Schmidt, Paul Ansolabehere and Christina Siefferman received the Police Department’s Award of Valor and Robert Meyers and Allen O’Day received a Letter of Recognition. The pilot, Robert Fiske, attended last night’s meeting and met with his rescuers for the first time since the crash.
To watch a recorded version of the awards presentation, click here. To see the story that aired on WCCO, click here.
