Cape Coral family reunites after Toronto plane crash ordeal

A Lee County man, Nate Richie, has returned home to Cape Coral after surviving a harrowing plane crash in Toronto.

The crash occurred last week when the plane flipped upside down and caught fire upon landing.

Richie was reunited with his family four days after the incident. He embraced his wife, Rachael Vaughn, who was overwhelmed with emotion.

“It was being able to hold him again and feel him in my arms was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” said Vaughn. “There is no word. There are no words to describe that feeling of emotion that went through my body: tears of joy, sadness because of what he’s had to go through, and knowing what he still has to go through, and all the love that I can’t even put any words.”

He expressed relief at being home with his family, especially his young daughter, Lynlie.

“Relief, to be home safely, to see my wife, because I really thought of mine I’d ever see again,” said Richie.

Despite the joyful reunion, the family remains shaken by the ordeal. Richie shared his struggles with the emotional aftermath of the crash.

“And I woke up this morning about five o’clock… Started playing through all the events of the day, how it unfolded,” said Richie. “There’s a lot of emotions, I’m seeking professionals to help out as right now, I told her earlier. So, you know, sometimes I take it hour by hour. At times, I just gotta take it moment by moment.”

Richie and Vaughn have canceled their international travel plans and are choosing to focus on healing instead.

Richie reflected on his reunion with his daughter, expressing how much it meant to him.

“It was great. She’s such a loving child, and she typically doesn’t express a lot of emotions to us, but she did say that she really missed me last week,” he said. “And so it was, you know, nothing can explain being reunited with Rachael.”

For now, the family is cherishing their time together as Richie focuses on his recovery.