A sudden wind shift can bring a cooling breeze to parched beachgoers in New Hampshire. But it can also have catastrophic consequences for aviators in the same area.

That near tragedy happened this past summer at Hampton Airfield, just a few miles from the busy seashore.  Roger Wood goes InDepth on the accident and aftermath.

For Gagnon and his passenger Roger Cross, a Coast Guardsman, it meant bracing for a crash. The craft was only 250 feet off the ground when it lost power so impact was imminent.

The two wound up stuck inside the burning plane.

Then Roger had to get to his friend. He was pinned in. Cross by then was suffering from severe burns on his left arm.

EMTs arrived at the scene quickly, and just as well, since the adrenaline the two were functioning on quickly dispersed, and they both began collapsing.  They were taken by ambulance to Portsmouth Regional Hospital where a quick decision was made to airlift Roger to a burns unit in Boston.

Ron stayed there where he was treated at the newly assembled Trauma II center, with Dr. Mohamed Ahmed taking charge as trauma surgeon.  Ron opted to have all his surgeries performed at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, and praised the surgical team for fixing a broken neck, seven broken ribs, a broken sternum and toe.  Roger Cross recovered in Boston.

For PFH CEO Dean Carucci, the actions of hospital staff justified the hard work to achieve Level II trauma care service. Portsmouth Regional Hospital is one of only three Level II trauma centers in the state.