Taipei Jet Crash Survivor Leaves Valley Burn Center

A survivor of the Singapore Airlines jet crash was upbeat Monday as he was released from the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks, where he was treated for second- and third-degree burns on his hands, face and back.

David L. Ralph, 54, thanked the hospital staff and recounted the horrifying Oct. 31 accident. Eighty-two people died when the jumbo jet bound for Los Angeles slammed into cranes and other equipment on a runway at Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.

“People started screaming,” he said. “That’s when I looked down the aisle and saw a fireball. I blacked out and thought it was over.”

He regained consciousness and helped passengers get out of the plane before escaping.

Ralph, a Palmdale resident, had made the trip with his assistant, Christina Reed, to recruit students for the international program at the Christian school he operates in Lancaster. Reed is expected to be released from the burn center this week.

Ralph, who had two operations that included the use of synthetic skin, is expected to make a full recovery and regain motion in his hands, said Dr. Peter Grossman of the burn center.

Ralph, wearing a straw hat, a gray T-shirt and black sweat pants, said he was excited to finally go home and was looking forward to returning to work.

He runs the Antelope Valley Christian School in Lancaster, which he founded with his wife, Patricia, 12 years ago. Ralph also is a marketing professor at Pepperdine University.