Pilot unhurt in crash landing
Somers volunteer firefighters Jim Kempter, left, and Rich Boon wait Wednesday morning along Lower Valley Road south of Kalispell after a pilot crash-landed a small plane into an alfalfa field. The men were among those at the scene awaiting the arrival of Federal Aviation Administration officials. Witnesses said the plane’s engine quit as it was doing some practice maneuvers. The pilot, Lanny Gorman, who said he has 26,000 hours of flight time, was able to exit the plane on his own and had no apparent injuries. Karen Nichols photos/Daily Inter Lake
By JIM MANN
The Daily Inter Lake
A state pilot walked away from a crash landing Wednesday morning in the Lower Flathead Valley.
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation pilot, identified as Lanny Gorman by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, took off at about 9 a.m. from Kalispell City Airport, flying a state-owned Cessna 185C for a routine flight exercise to prepare for fire season patrol flights.
According to a DNRC press release, Gorman was practicing a simulated "soft-field" emergency landing and "experienced difficulty with the aircraft, leading to a crash landing" near Wagner Lane and Lower Valley Road.
A witness, Larry Stevens, was a half-mile away when he saw the plane come down low toward an airstrip in the area. Stevens said that just as the plane started to gain altitude again, the "engine quit."
Stevens said the plane dropped into an alfalfa field, with the front end nosing down and a wing striking the ground, causing the plane to pivot.
Gorman, 71, walked away from the damaged plane, and was later taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where it was determined that he hadn't suffered any acute injury.
Gorman has more than 20,000 flight hours, including time flying for the Navy and a commercial airline.
"Certainly, the fact that there are no injuries is a tribute to his experience and presence of mind immediately before he contacted the ground," said Steve Frye, a spokesman for the state agency.
Frye said it was a routine flight exercise intended to prepare pilots for wildfire patrol flights this summer.
"The pilots that we fly with don't usually fly year-round, so as we're getting ready for the fire season, we have them familiarize themselves with the aircraft that they will be flying during the season," Frye said. Gorman has 4,000 hours of experience with the type of Cessna he was flying.
The DNRC is investigating the accident in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We suspect mechanical problems," Frye said. "That's the report we got from the pilot. But we won't know for sure until the investigation is complete."
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com