I was the sole survivor of a plane crash
In 1979, a small plane carrying 11-year-old Norman Ollestad and three others crashed into a mountainside in California. Norman had to make his way down the mountain alone.
When a plane carrying 11-year-old Norman Ollestad, his father and his father’s girlfriend got caught in a snowstorm and crashed into the remote California mountains in 1979, Norman was the only survivor. Stranded on the edge of a cliff, the boy relied on the skills his father had taught him throughout his childhood to make it down the treacherous mountain to safety. This extraordinary tale of survival is being told in two parts.
Norman Ollestad’s memoir is called Crazy For the Storm. He has also written a short story called Formentera about the fraying relationship of a married couple.
The archive you heard comes courtesy of CBS.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Mariana Des Forges
Producer: Mariana Des Forges
Picture: Norman Ollestad
Credit: Jeff Lipsky
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