When Dale Earnhardt Jr and His Family Nearly Escaped a Fatal Plane Crash

Without a doubt, Dale Earnhardt Jr is one of the most popular and richest former drivers to have raced in the NASCAR Cup Series. With his race earnings and having come from the Earnhardt family, Dale Jr has built several assets in his career. One of his eye-catching assets was his aircraft, the Cessna Citation Latitude. However, he and his family do not possess fond memories of the aircraft.

The day of the incident involving the Earnhardt Jr family

Post retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, Dale Jr turned into a broadcaster for NBC. On August 15, 2019, as part of his work duties, Junior was heading to the Bristol Motor Speedway. Back then, he, his wife Amy Earnhardt, then 15-month-old daughter Isla and the family dog were heading to the Elizabethton airport in the Cessna Citation Latitude aircraft.

It was then that their plane crashed while landing at the airport in Tennessee. Luckily, none of the Earnhardt family members or the aircraft crew were majorly injured in the incident. However, it created a lot of panic among the Earnhardt fanbase and the NASCAR community.

Furthermore, it would have turned out bad had Dale Jr and others not escaped from the plane in time.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and the pilot successfully created a safe escape

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The airplane crash saw it bounce twice on the runway before it skidded and caught fire. The flight crew reportedly believed that the total evacuation time then available was about 2-3 minutes. Things got intense as Dale Jr tried his level best to open the over-the-wing emergency exit door.

Pilot Richard Pope too was involved in assisting Junior, but both of them failed. They then tried to open the rear exit door as heavy smoke emerged from the lavatory. Earnhardt simultaneously asked co-pilot Jeff Milton to open the main cabin door. Luckily, Milton’s kick did the trick, and an exit was created.

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Naturally, Dale Jr’s primary instincts were to hand out his daughter to exit first through the pilots. Eventually, all of them came out with the two-time Daytona 500 winner struggling a bit as he had hurt his back. However, there was nothing there of major concern.

The Earnhardt Jr family’s condition after the brutal incident

It was an unexpected event for the Earnhardt family, as they were taken to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee for treating their minor injuries after the incident. With no serious injuries sustained, the Earnhardt family was lucky to escape in time and so were the pilots.

However, it was an unforgettable experience for them. Given what happened with Dale Earnhardt Sr in 2001, naturally, they are more than cautious about the unpredictability of life. Furthermore, it was only imperative to go deep into the matter and study the cause behind it.

The reason behind the incident

While initially it was confirmed that the crash was because of a mechanical malfunction, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) deep-dived into the matter and presented their report to determine the cause of the incident. As per their report, the primary reason for the crash was a landing gear collapse.

It said, “The airplane bounced twice, then continued airborne down runway 24 until it touched down a third time with about 1,000 ft of paved surface remaining. The video revealed that the right main landing gear collapsed and the outboard section of the right wing contacted the runway shortly after the third touchdown.

“The airplane departed the paved surface beyond the runway 24 departure end threshold, through an open area of grass, down an embankment, through a chain-link fence, and up an embankment, coming to rest on the edge of Tennessee Highway 91.”

While this was the explanation from the technical point of view, what actually triggered this scenario?

Was the pilot or anyone else charged guilty for the situation?

As per the NTSB investigation, Pilot Richard Pope confirmed he was carrying extra speed as the aircraft approached the landing. The reason for him to go with this approach was because of the fact that the plane normally “slows down so easy”. Furthermore, this resulted in a pretty rough initial touchdown which eventually saw the plane come off the runway.

Interestingly, both pilots were of the opinion that the thrust reversers normally used to decelerate during landing never created the power to serve their purpose. They only played some role when applied for the third time. However, despite applying brakes, they couldn’t stop the airplane from skidding 400 feet from the runway into a grass-covered hill.

Certainly, the crash could have been avoided with a more cautious approach. However, to date, there is no confirmation if any sort of punishment or charges were imposed on either pilot for the incident.

How Earnhardt Jr and his family recover from the after-effects of the accident

Two weeks after the incident, Dale Jr was back racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It was then that he shared how the event took a toll on him and his family. Speaking to Fox Sports, he said, “It was a very tough experience to go through. I try not to get into that, think about (it happening to my family) too much. Things happen for a reason. You just try to learn from it and move on.”

He even added, “I love my daughter so much and enjoy being around her and look forward to watching her grow up and experiencing a lot of things with her going forward. That just made you realize that much more. I’m just thankful and ready to live our lives.”

Imagine if Junior found it this difficult, how difficult it must have been for young and innocent Isla. In an interview with People magazine, Amy Earnhardt spoke about how the incident still has a scary effect on her daughter. Whenever Isla finds herself in a plane or it’s taking off, she shows some signs of fear.

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In Amy’s words: “For a while, she would tremble and shake. It was before she was talking, so we really couldn’t talk through it with her. That was hard.” It is a pity really to see Isla struggle in this fashion. All said and done, it was a lucky escape for Dale Jr and his family.