Beliefnet News

Beliefnet News

U.S. Marine dies after rescuing ORU trustee’s daughter from deadly air crash

The daughter of an Oral Roberts University trustee was pulled from the wreckage of a crashed small aircraft by a former U.S. Marine sergeant severely injured in the crash, who then helped her wave down help along a highway.

Three were killed in the crash, and former U.S. Marines Sgt. Austin Anderson, recently returned from two tours in Iraq, died after being airlifted to a Wichita, Kansas, hospital.

Austin Anderson

The five had been on their way to an Iowa youth crusade.

Hannah Luce, 22, was critically injured and admitted to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. She is the daughter of ORU trustee Ron Luce, the founder of Teen Mania Ministries, which was conducting this weekend’s “Acquire the Fire” rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Annually, more than 100,000 teenagers spend weekends at the ministry’s events. The Iowa crusade was part of the “Normal’s Not Enough Tour” in 25 cities.

In a statement to the press, Teen Mania founder Luce asked for prayers for the families of those killed: pilot Luke Sheets, 23, of Ephraim, Wis.; and former  Austin Anderson, 27, of Ringwood, Okla.; Garrett Coble, 29, of Tulsa, Okla.; and Stephen Luth, 22, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Coble was a professor at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Okla., and had served on 15 Global Expeditions missions trips for the youth outreach. 

Hannah Luce

Hannah and Anderson were able to walk to a nearby highway and get help. However, both suffered severe injuries and were evacuated by air to hospitals. Luce is listed in serious but stable condition, suffering from burns on 28 percent of her body.

Anderson  had served two tours of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq. He died from his injuries on Saturday. He had recently graduated from Oral Roberts University with a degree in business administration.

Teen Mania founder Ron Luce described all those on board the plane as “committed Christians who had a passion to reach the younger generation with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.”

“We are so saddened by what has happened and ask for all those who have been touched by this ministry in some way to rally around the families of all involved in the crash, especially the four young men who passed away. Please lift them up in prayer, and ask for the Holy Spirit to surround them with God’s love and peace,” Luce said. “They all had a heart for this generation, and were passionately pursuing God’s call on their lives.”

A "Normal Is Not Enough" youth rally earlier this year

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that Sheets, Coble and Luth died in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board said the twin-engine Cessna 401 went down around 4:30 p.m. Friday northwest of Chanute, Kan. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson told the Tulsa World newspaper the eight-seat plane caught fire after the crash.

“The plane lost contact with air traffic control after getting permission to descend to a lower altitude,” Knudson said. “After that, there was no further communication.”

Brooke Ninowski, who recently graduated from ORU, told the Associated Press that Anderson had been her brother’s college roommate and Luth had dated one of her best friends.

“They were guys who stuck to their morals and it showed through their character, and how they treated people,” she said. “They thought of others first.”

ORU President Mark Rutland asked the university community to pray for Luce and remember those who were killed. He said Coble was a former business instructor at the school.

“The entire ORU community grieves for the families of the ORU graduates who lost their lives in this tragic plane accident,” Rutland said. “May God grant them peace and they reflect on the precious lives that were so dear to their hearts. We continue to pray for those who are recovering.”



You Might Also Like...
Previous Posts

Confessions of a Preacher’s Daughter
She’s the star of “This Is Our Time.” She played Kirk Cameron’s wife in the surprise blockbuster “Fireproof.” But she grew up as the pastor’s kid at a megachurch. Was Erin Bethea the stereotypical fast-driving, hard-drinking, boy-teasing, cigar-smoking preacher’s daughter? After all,

posted 12:04:02pm Apr. 23, 2013 | read full post »

Focus on the Family’s President Says It’s Time to “Refocus”
 It’s tough out there in the culture wars and Jim Daly has the battle scars to prove it. But does the top executive of Focus on the Family believe he can ever successfully declare

posted 10:24:18am Mar. 14, 2013 | read full post »

5-week Bible special a labor of love for famous TV producer and 'Touched by an Angel' wife
It’s a passion project. The new 10-hour mini-series The Bible is “a story of enduring love,” says Mark Burnett, producer of TV mega-hits Survivor (CBS), The Voice (NBC), The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC), and Shark Tank (ABC). “It’s many, many stories that have endured over thousands of ye

posted 4:47:19am Feb. 21, 2013 | read full post »

Who should be allowed to pray for Obama?
It seems preposterous, but there’s a major debate over who is worthy to invoke the presence and blessing of the Almighty on the leaders of this land we love! So, who is qu

posted 1:59:32pm Jan. 15, 2013 | read full post »

Do parents have a say in what schools teach?
Should a Hindu foundation be allowed to finance yoga instruction in California grade schools – despite vehement parental objections? Should a student production featuring cross-dressing and gender confusion go ahead in Utah despite protests from furious parents? [caption id="attachment_12003" a

posted 4:11:31pm Jan. 07, 2013 | read full post »

Advertisement
Comments Post the First Comment »
post a comment

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.





Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.