Three-year-old plane crash survivor hailed a “miracle child”

A three-year-old girl who was the only survivor of a deadly plane crash has been hailed a "miracle child".

Kate Williams was found alive in the aircraft's wreckage after hanging upside down for more than FOUR hours, secure inside a car seat, defying all odds.

Her grandfather Allen Williams tragically died in the crash, along with another adult passenger. And Kate's parents say Allen's thoroughness saved their daughter's life.

His son, Sheldon Williams, said: "He was very safety conscious, not just using the car seat every time he flew, but putting it in properly.

"There are no anchor straps [for the car seat in a plane], but he took the time on that flight, on all flights, to strap it in.

"Without that being done she properly she never would've survived."

Kate's mother, Nancy Williams, told US television show Good Morning America that Kate - whom her grandfather called "Super Kate" - was "doing very well".

She added: "She is a very happy little girl."

An employee of her grandfather, 49-year-old Steven Sutton, also perished in the October 28 crash in the dangerous Rocky Mountains in Canada. The crash is still to be explained.

Canadian businessman Sheldon, 65, was an experienced pilot who had a background in engineering, which helped him understand how best to brace Kate's seat.

When rescue workers found her, the seat had flipped upside down, but Kate was still snuggly buckled in.

Rescue workers who found the toddler said her first request was for her teddy bear Pablo, who was returned to her covered in snow.

She had a black eye and bruises on her face as she was caught on camera being led to safety.  The crash site was surrounded by rocks and trees.

Nancy recalled: "There was a lot of uncertainty to begin with. Details came in gradually over the period of an hour.

"You're just overwhelmed. You feel sick.

"Soon we knew she was alive, but until you get to the hospital and hold her in your arms, you don't know if she's alright."

Kate was taken to a hospital in Calgary but released soon after.

She said her daughter and Allen were almost "inseparable".

Allen was an hour into a routine short flight from a business retreat in Golden, British Columbia to Edmonton, Alberta, where they lived, in a Cessna 172 which he was operating himself when the craft began transmitting a distress signal.

Authorities say it suddenly dropped from the sky and plunged nose-first into an icy creek in the snow-capped mountain range. It took a rescue helicopter four hours to find the craft.

At the time, Nancy was eight months pregnant with the Williams' second child. The baby boy was born just a few days after the crash  - and the Williamses named him Allen, after his grandfather.

"He was a great father, great grandfather and a special friend," said Sheldon.

He told a Canadian newspaper shortly after the crash: "We lost one Allen Dale and now we have another to carry on his legacy."

By Gavin Wilson, Jan 25 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy