It’s like lightening striking the same place twice — except more improbable.

Twice a plane-crash victim, twice a survivor.

Just over a week after surviving a plane crash that took the life of his father and step-mother, Austin Hatch has begun his long, painful road to recovery.

According to a post from the Hatch family on Austin’s CaringBridge page, the 2013 Michigan basketball recruit has made significant strides since arriving at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich. on June 24.

“We are encouraged by the progress Austin has made in this first week,” the family said in a statement on CaringBridge.com on Friday. “He has remained stable, and notable improvements include movement to withdraw from pain and improved breathing function. Doctors have begun the gradual process of reducing his medications.

“As he slowly begins the ‘waking up’ process, we ask for your continued prayers, and are grateful for the outpouring of love and support for Austin and the entire extended Hatch Family.”

Hatch, 16, was the lone survivor when his father, Dr. Stephen Hatch, was unable to bring his Beechcraft A36 down to land on the tarmac at Charlevoix Municipal Airport in northern Michigan.

A report released by the National Transportation Safety Board pinpointed a faulty attempt at an instrument approach to the landing, where a GPS approach brings pilots to 500 feet above the ground.

“Pilots would make an instrument approach for practice or because they can’t see,” Indianapolis-based flight instructor Preston Wulfenspein told the Journal Gazette. “It seems as though he was either disoriented or confident enough where he thought he could descend below the minimums. He did, but it was not the right thing to do. It was poor decisionmaking.”

According to the report, the plane broke out of the clouds halfway down the runway, increased power and veered around a water tower on the southwest end of the airport. The plane stalled and continued its uncoordinated flight pattern until it descended into a residential yard on the north border of the airport.

It was the second such survival story for Austin. At the age of eight, he and his father were the only survivors of a similar crash that took the lives of his mother, Julie, and two siblings, Lindsay and Ian.

The broken Hatch family pulled together, and Stephen remarried.

And then lightening stuck again. Harder. One swift, final blow, destroying any semblance Austin had of a family.

When doctors pull Austin out of the drug-induced coma that has kept him alive since the crash, the 16-year-old will wake up to understand the harshest of realities — his only immediate family remaining is the family dog, Brady, the other recent survivor.

Austin’s basketball career is out of the question right now. The 6-foot-6 prep star from Fort Wayne, Ind. committed to Michigan in June, but the focus is on saving his life, not his jump shot.

But his work ethic and prowess on the basketball court could be what saves his life.

“The concern regarding brain swelling has subsided and his condition continues to improve,” the Hatch Family said in a statement Saturday. “We are encouraged by Austin’s response to the excellent medical care he is receiving, a testament to his prior athletic training regimen.”

It remains to be seen whether Austin will ever step onto the court at Crilser Arena under Michigan coach John Beilein, but the Michigan community is itching to do anything it can to create a family atmosphere for Austin.

The NCAA has relaxed its restrictions on the recruiting process, allowing Beilein to call the recruit more than the typical once-a-month limit. Beilein will be permitted to visit Austin once he is pulled out of the coma without breaking NCAA regulations.

“We appreciate that they and the Big Ten office are working with us throughout this situation,” Beilein said in a statement released Tuesday. “Both groups have been in communication with our compliance office and continue to provide valuable insight on a daily basis.

“The outpouring of support from our Michigan faithful, coaches, administrators and fans across the country has been overwhelming. We are thankful for all the support that has been offered to the Hatch family.”

With such an unpredictable recovery timeline, Austin may never don the maize and blue, but he deserves a chance.

Beilein will give him every opportunity.

And Austin will fight the hardest imaginable battle — again.