By Andrew DePaul E-mail | Biography COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A small plane carrying two passengers made an emergency landing into a cornfield on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. on Columbus' northwest side.
Richard Willis, 71, had reportedly taken off from the Bellefontaine Airport Sunday Night and was headed toward the Ohio State University Airport, NBC 4's David Wayne reported.
Jane Demuth, 64, was the only other passenger on the plane.
The fast actions of an experienced pilot are what saved the two passengers. Officials said Willis landed the plane without a propeller or landing gear.
"He said that he heard a loud sound and the next thing he knew the propeller had flown off," said Angie Reffitt, a friend of the pilot. "All the lights came on, the engine stopped, and the first thing he could think of was to find a place to land without hitting a house."
Willis is the owner of Willis Aviation in Columbus and reportedly has years of experience.
Ed Reffitt, of Performance One Towing, said that it took five hours to remove the plane from the dark cornfield on Monday morning.
Willis' plane, a Liberty XL-2, was taken to Don Scott Airport where it will be repaired.
Two things....
1) They were on a date. 2) Why does it matter if the engine stops once the prop has fallen off?
Title: Re: "Props" to them....
Post by: Mic on July 27, 2007, 01:52:27 PM
less noise ??? ::whistle::
Glider pilots are still considering that the engine IS the problem !
Title: Re: "Props" to them....
Post by: Franz on July 27, 2007, 02:23:12 PM
Glider pilots are still considering that the engine IS the problem !
Absolutly TRUE. Hard to have that kind of problem in a glider . . . And it hardly takes you 5h to recover a glider from any field. ;) The only downside is that, depending on the weather, range and endurance can be very limited . . . :-[
