Jack Mehner talks life after plane crash

"Good evening, Lord."

Those were the words Jack Mehner spoke during his invocation at the Cape Chamber's annual dinner. It stuck with me, partly because you hear so few people begin prayer this way. But if you know Mehner and what he endured 13 months ago, it makes perfect sense. Prayer has been his source of strength.

Mehner, 84, and fellow aviator Lowell Peterson worked on planes together over the years, and on Oct. 9, 2018, on a windy, but otherwise sunny day the two men flipped a private aircraft at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Peterson, who was the pilot that day, died. Mehner suffered from a broken neck and a head injury. A faint scar on the right side of his forehead is a permanent reminder.

"It was a little windy. [It] wasn't too bad when we took off," Mehner told me Monday afternoon. "We flew around for awhile and by the time we got ready to leave the wind was like 26, 25 knots crosswind -- which is not good. But Lowell had done that before and landed in cross winds. [He was] a good pilot. So I had no reason to be concerned."

The plane descended in what Mehner called a "critical landing." It hit the runway hard, bounced, then blew into the grass where it flipped, he recalled.

Mehner was unable to get Peterson out of the plane. He used a handkerchief to stop the bleeding from his own head, crawled out of the plane and called 911.

Peterson, he learned later, died of a heart attack when the plane landed.

"It wasn't anything he did wrong," Mehner said. "He just had a heart attack."

Over the coming weeks Mehner spent time in an intensive care unit recovering from his broken neck followed by several weeks of rehabilitation at Chateau Girardeau. Because of radiation from previous vocal cord cancer, medical staff struggled to insert a breathing tube which ultimately led to swallowing difficulty.

Even after being discharged to go home, Mehner struggled with swallowing. A feeding tube was his source of nutrition. But one night while meeting friends for dinner, he tried a small amount of chicken noodle soup. With a little work, he was able to swallow. Now, he can eat most anything he wants.

Mehner said his wife, Sherri, was a big help in the recovery. He received numerous visitors and cards. Even a marquee on Independence Street read, "Pray for Jack."

"[There were] so many prayers, people saying they prayed for me, that I can't begin to count them," Mehner said.

Faith has always been a source of strength for Mehner. But like many who have walked through the valley of the shadow of death, as Scripture says, Mehner found hope through his relationship with Jesus.

"There's nothing like a problem to bring you closer to God," he said. "I've been close to God for years ... I don't even remember the first time I went to church. But it does get your attention," he said of the crash.

Mehner said he's been blessed with a full recovery, eating and doing most anything he did before -- including his workouts at the gym and playing pickleball.

But most of all, Mehner's passion for ministry lives on. He leads a small group through LaCroix Church, attends another Bible study and is involved in a ministry with the Charleston prison.

About a half dozen individuals go to the prison each week. Some of the ministries include recording the inmates reading a children's' book. The recording is sent to their children or grandchildren.

They also assist with broadcasting the Global Leadership Summit to the prison and work with the inmates to pack meals through Feed My Starving Children. Mehner estimated the prison has helped pack 200,000 to 300,000 meals.

"It's amazing to me how guys can leave the backgrounds that they've had and through whatever -- through some of their own efforts, hopefully through some of our efforts as far as bringing Bible messages to them -- they've become such strong Christian guys. It's amazing to me," he said, adding the inmates have been a blessing to him.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, Jack Mehner is the epitome of gratefulness. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to serve. From surviving a horrific plane crash to living a life of purpose and helping others, he's certainly an inspiration.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.