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SALT LAKE CITY — More than six weeks after a plane crash in San Juan County, pilot Dan Fassler is finally ready to leave the hospital and come home.
Fassler, 34, is expected to be discharged Thursday from University Hospital. He's little worse for wear but should make a full recovery. That's something his mother describes as "miraculous."
Everyone who has seen the pictures of that plane can't believe that he lived.
–Sharon Fassler, mother
"Everyone who has seen the pictures of that plane can't believe that he lived," Sharon Fassler said Wednesday. "He is determined. I think that's what has gotten him through all of this."
If anything, he's too determined. Dr. Elie Elovic said Fassler is anxious to push himself to recovery and often Elovic has to remind him to pace himself.
"Dan's busted his gut working to get better," Elovic said. "It's amazing the recovery he's had in the last couple of weeks."
Fassler is communicating — albeit with difficulty from a wired jaw — and is up walking on crutches. He faces a grueling schedule of physical therapy, but his spirits are high.
"He's going to get therapy from the top of his head to the tip of his toes," Sharon Fassler said.
On May 23, Dan Fassler was attempting to land a Cessna 207 at the Monument Valley Airport when strong winds caused the plane to crash. He was carrying five other passengers at the time, all of whom survived with two experiencing broken bones.
Sharon Fassler said it was horrifying to learn that her son, a passionate aviator, had been involved in an accident.
"Every time he took a flight, he would call me or text me to say he was safe on the ground," she said. "It was just surreal, unbelievable."
Fassler was flown to a hospital in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he was placed in intensive care and remained in critical condition for weeks.
"It wasn't until the ninth of June that they felt he was stable enough to have the surgery," his mother said. "It was rough."
Dan Fassler underwent facial reconstruction surgery — involving plates being inserted beneath both eyes and his jaw being wired — and orthopedic surgery on his left ankle. Until then, doctors had been hesitant to give anything more than a "very critical" prognosis. But soon after his surgery, the family got their first indication that he would be all right and Fassler was transferred to University Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Fassler said he doesn't remember the accident or most of his treatment in Arizona, but his mother said during earlier conversations after the crash he expressed concern for his passengers and was happy to hear they had not been hurt.
"As a pilot you don't really think of this stuff," Dan Fassler said. "You just go do your job."
He is thankful for family and friends. "I didn't know I had that much support," he said.
Dan Fassler was certainly shaken as well, but far from broken. Thinking about the future, he said he expects someday to get back in the pilot's chair.
"I'm hoping down the road I can get back in an airplane," he said. "I got lucky. It could have been a lot worse. It's good to just be alive."
Email:benwood@ksl.com
