Scott Miller Lost Use Of His Legs In A Motorcycle Accident

Scott Miller might have given up. Several years ago, the young National Guard soldier was riding his motorcycle home from a drill weekend when he hit a pothole and crashed into a utility pole, fracturing two vertebrae in his back.

Scott lost the use of his legs in that accident, but not his drive. Late in 2012, he started flight training at Indian Hill Community College in Ottumwa, IA, and last Tuesday, he passed his private pilot checkride.

Darren Graham, Chief Flight Instructor at Indian Hills, tells ANN that Miller has been a great pleasure to work with, and the college community got behind his effort. A Union hand control was made to retrofit the Cessna 172 he would fly for his training, and Bill Kyle, whom Graham describes as a "aviation expert" in Charles City, IA, did the reverse engineering on the Cessna. While all that was going on, Miller worked in the college's Redbird simulator learning the basics.

Graham says that Scott plans to continue with advanced flight training at the college. We here at ANN congratulate Scott on his accomplishment, and wish him many enjoyable, enriching, and safe hours in the cockpit.

(Image from Indian Hills Community College Facebook Page)

FMI: www.indianhills.edu