Man who survived 2 plane crashes that killed his family becomes a father

A man has reflected on how surviving two plane crashes as a child that claimed the lives of his family has made him a better father and husband.

When he was eight years old, Austin Hatch - now 28 - boarded his family's single-engine airplane which tragically claimed the lives of some of his family.

As reported by PEOPLE, during the flight, the plane struck a utility pole in Wells County, Indiana, and sadly his 35-year-old mother Julie, 11-year-old sister Lindsay and five-year-old brother Ian were killed.

Speaking to the outlet, Austin said: "It was a devastating tragedy, a devastating loss, my dad and I did our best to press on during the midst of that, but that's not something you ever really get through. You just adjust to the new normal. I followed my dad's lead on that."

Tragedy struck again some years later after the father and son had rebuilt their lives.

After landing a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 2011, the family was flying to their lake house where their new aircraft stalled and crashed into a garage in Charlevoix.

Tragically, Austin's 46-year-old father Stephen and his 44-year-old stepmother Kim lost their lives in the incident, with the now 28-year-old barely surviving.

Austin was placed in a medically induced coma where he remained for two months after he punctured a lung, broke his collar bone, and suffered serious brain trauma.

"The chances of surviving two plane crashes is 1 in 11 quadrillion and 560 trillion," Austin told PEOPLE. "I shouldn't have survived, but I did, so there must have been some purpose in it."

A year later, after having to learn how to walk, talk and eat again, Austin attended the University of Michigan where he first met Abby, and it was love at first sight.

The pair began talking after meeting in a political science class, and a couple of months later they were dating and were then married two months after graduating.

Austin received the best present a man could ask for on his 28th birthday in October 2022, as his son Hudson was born after two years of IVF treatment.

"She's an incredible wife and I am so grateful for her," Austin said about Abby. "I don't think that mindset is necessarily due to what I've lost, but maybe it has given me an even greater appreciation for the woman she is."

"He feels a really clear sense of purpose right now with what he's doing," 27-year-old Abby said. "I think you go through that twice and you know you're on this earth for a reason.

"And there's a lot of different reasons for that, most of which we'll never know. But he talks about his purpose when he speaks, and it's his family. It's honoring his family in heaven, his family here, us."

Austin left his corporate job to become a motivational speaker and attends schools, churches, and businesses to discuss mindsets and how people can overcome adversity.

Through it all, the memory of his family never leaves him. "I do everything I can to keep their spirit and their memory alive every day," he said.

Featured image credit: Sergio Hayashi / Alamy