A pilot who was told he would never walk again spoke to NBC6 about his road to recovery.
A pilot is speaking about his road to recovery more than a year after he was seriously injured in a small banner plane crash at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines.
“I tell them, 'I don’t feel my legs, my leg is numb, I don’t feel anything, I can’t move my legs,'” said Assem Ashat.
In May of 2023, Ashat survived a near-fatal plane crash, suffering multiple fractures, including a spinal cord injury.
Doctors told him that he would never walk again.
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"There was, like, a lot of pain, sometime(s) it took like 45 minutes plus to get me from the bed to the wheelchair,” he explained.
For months, he worked on regaining his strength.
"Lot’s of physical therapy…it was three to four hours a day,” Ashat said.
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He said the yellow Piper PA-25 he was flying suffered a mechanical issue. A lawsuit against Aerial Banners Inc. was filed last November.
The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation when the incident happened. NBC 6 reached out on Friday to inquire about the cause of the crash but NTSB said the final report is still pending.
Nevertheless, Ashat refused to give up the dream he’s had of flying planes since he was 5 years old. Doctors say it’s a miracle he can walk again.
Now, he is hoping to change other survivors' lives, who have also dealt with traumatic accidents, to never give up because miracles really do happen.
"It's easy to feel sad, and stay in bed and not do the work that you are supposed to do, but trust me, you have no idea how capable you are of changing your life,” he said.
