(Credit: KDKA)
DERRY TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — A small plane made an emergency landing in Westmoreland County Wednesday night.
The aircraft landed in a field near the Latrobe Skating Center on Ligonier Street Extension.
The plane belongs to Westmoreland Aviation, a flight school.
KDKA’s David Highfield reports the pilot and passenger knew they were losing altitude and weren’t going to make to the airport in Latrobe.
The pilot circling Arnold Palmer Regional Airport put out a mayday call. He was reportedly guided to land on a hillside in Derry Township about two miles north of the airport.
“When they realized they weren’t going to make the airport, they turned the plane around to try and find some place where they wouldn’t cause any additional damage or injuries to anyone else,” said Dan Stevens, head of emergency management in Westmoreland County. “They found the field behind us, landed the plane and the two people are able to walk away from the emergency landing that they had.”
Lori Salandro-Hoyman and her husband, Randy Hoyman, were in their car when they saw the plane.
“It looked like it was going toward the airport just fine and then all of a sudden it like veered left and it just went straight down,” Salandro-Hoyman said. “I said to my husband, ‘That plane just crashed!’”
Emergency crews found the pilot outside the Cherokee 180. Neither pilot nor the passenger was hurt.
Stevens says there was damage to the underside of the plane.
Officials with the FAA are expected to talk with the two people who were on the plane.
Stay with KDKA for the latest developments.
RELATED LINKS:
Westmoreland Aviation
Federal Aviation Administration
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Traffic Cams
Zoo Cam
17 Comments
Any passengers? Was it a remote controlled plane
April 13, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Don’t you read the article, or just the headlines? What a stupid question.
April 14, 2011 at 12:17 am
If you were not so quick to judge, this is a revised story. Buceye was commenting on the story that was first published last night that said that they did not know if there were passengers aboard. ABC reported this morning that the plane landed “without wheels” instead of stating that the landing gear was sheared off during the landing. You have to take the news with a grain of salt.
April 14, 2011 at 9:05 am
Reading comprehension > buceye
April 14, 2011 at 8:51 am
It was a drone looking for bin Laden
April 13, 2011 at 9:17 pm
it was right by the latrobe skating center
April 13, 2011 at 9:20 pm
When did this happen? Just a couple of minutes ago?
April 13, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Freaking drunks and their flying machines! Well at least the Derry/Latrobe area has more to talk about than the latest duji OD.
April 13, 2011 at 9:54 pm
it had two passengers on bord. They are both fine. Emergency landing.
April 13, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Good job pilots!!
April 14, 2011 at 3:34 am
Maybe the result of a mile high club expedition gone bad?? Well, maybe only a few thousand feet high, haha.
April 14, 2011 at 8:41 am
This is NOT something to joke about!!!!
April 14, 2011 at 10:52 am
Memeber?
April 14, 2011 at 11:57 am
Maybe the family should avoid airplanes until they can grasp the concept of spelling…baby steps “memeber”, lol
April 14, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Maybe you all should grow up and stop acting immature and rude about this. How would any of you feel if this was one of your family members?
April 14, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I would be happy since none of them die. Julie must have PMS.
April 14, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Nobody was hurt…take a chill pill, haha.
April 14, 2011 at 2:35 pm