Pawnee Rock farmer and business owner Glenn Mull; his wife, his wife, Elaine; their daughter, Amy Harter; and granddaughter Samantha Harter have been identified as the victims of a plane crash in Tennessee. Mull owned Mull Farms and Feeding in Pawnee Rock.
Meanwhile, safety officials in Tennessee are hailing Glenn Mull as a hero. Despite the flight being doomed, he managed to avoid crashing into a  crowded YMCA.
The Associated Press reports they were traveling to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in Nashville when their Gulfstream 690C crashed Monday while trying to land in suburban Nashville. They had taken off from the Great Bend Municipal Airport at 2:45 p.m.
Lori Gibson, a spokeswoman for the family, said the family “is in the process of coming to terms with the shock of this loss” while also trying to address the needs of Mull’s employees and the community.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran issued a statement Tuesday upon learning of the deaths.
“My heart goes out to the entire Mull family during this difficult time,” said Sen. Moran. “Glenn was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Both he and his wife Elaine were well-known for their generous spirit and commitment to improving Pawnee County. Glenn, Elaine, their daughter Amy and granddaughter Samantha will be greatly missed. I ask all Kansans to join me in keeping their family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during the days ahead.”
The small plane crashed near a YMCA in suburban Nashville, killing everyone on board and damaging cars in the Y’s parking lot, authorities said. No one on the ground was injured, Nashville fire department spokeswoman Kim Lawson said.
In a media briefing just after 6 p.m. Monday, the Nashville Fire Department chief said the pilot made a hard-right turn and saved many lives by avoiding the YMCA building and a nearby retirement home.
The plane departed from Great Bend Municipal Airport at 2:45 p.m. and crashed 10 miles south of John C. Tune Airport in Nashville about 5 p.m. The flight was bound for John C. Tune Airport but missed its first approach and was preparing for a second one when the aircraft crashed, Nashville Police said.
Police said the plane hit trees on the right side of the YMCA before crashing into the ground. The wreckage and debris is said to have spread over an area of more than 80 yards.
Morgan MacGavin was studying in a Starbucks when the plane crashed, narrowly avoiding the Y’s indoor swimming pool. She said people in the Starbucks ran outside to see a roaring fire and thick plumes of smoke.
“It looked like someone had poured gasoline on a bonfire,” MacGavin said. “It was probably the largest fire I have ever seen in my life.”
No one was injured inside the YMCA, said Jessica Fain, a spokeswoman for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.
She said the center was evacuated. Fain had no idea how many people were inside the gym, but she said the crash occurred during what is normally a peak time at the gym.
WSMV in Nashville reported Tuesday that surveillance video from the YMCA has been handed over to the National Transportation Safety Board to assist the investigation. It quoted a spokesman for the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, who stated, “While details of the crash are still emerging, the near-miss of our building surely saved dozens of people from harm. Although members do not check out when leaving our facilities, scan reports indicate that as many as 300 people likely entered the building between 3 and 5 p.m.”
A person identified as “A Bellevue Mom” on social media site SuburbanTurmoil.com praised Mull as a hero for avoiding a collision with the YMCA. The letter (http://suburbanturmoil.com/to-the-friends-and-family-of-glenn-mull/2014/02/04/#sthash.JTAR7cR6.dpuf) notes, “Some experts are saying now that the last-second sharp turn Glenn made in the seconds before the plane crashed indicates that he made a heroic decision to hit the one spot in the immediate vicinity where no one on the ground would be hurt. I, for one, believe them.
“The crash site is literally a few yards from the YMCA’s indoor pool, where dozens of our children were enjoying their day off. It was right beside the Y’s new workout room, which would have been packed with moms and dads at that time of day. I know many of the people who were swimming with their children when the plane went down, or heading into the Kroger next door, or who ran outside their homes to see what the loud buzzing noise in the sky was, or whose teenage children were heading to the Y or to the church next door for basketball practice. Glenn managed to spare all of their lives.
“And for that, we could not be more grateful to him.
“We are all talking today about Glenn Mull, the hero, who we believe had the extraordinary courage and presence of mind to save our families, even as he realized he couldn’t save his own. We grieve with you today, but we hope you’ll take some small comfort in the fact that we here in Bellevue will never forget this husband, father and grandfather from Kansas who was able to do something that now seems nearly impossible under the circumstances. It is nothing short of a miracle that no one on the ground was hurt or killed- and we owe that miracle to God and to Glenn Mull.”