Pilot walks away from crop-duster crash

A pilot suffered minor injuries when his single-engine crop-dusting airplane crashed Tuesday near Polson.

The pilot walked away from the 1:15 p.m. crash, according to the plane’s owner, who did not want to be identified.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said that the plane made a hard landing and the pilot was fortunate to escape nearly unscathed.

“By his own words, he said he just banged his knee,” Bell said, relaying information from his undersheriff who talked to the pilot.

The pilot was treated for minor injuries at Providence Medical Center in Polson.

Bell said the plane went down in the Irvine Flats area between the Buffalo Bridge and Big Arm. The pilot reported hitting an air pocket that provided no lift, causing the plane to descend. Bell said that it appeared that the pilot made an attempt to land. The impact caused relatively minor damage to the aircraft, and there was no fire.

“The plane is pretty much intact, except it landed hard enough where it tore the landing gear off,” Bell said.

The plane was owned by Campbell Aviation Inc. and was leased out. It was manufactured in 1966, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The plane was believed to be carrying about 20 gallons of Tordon pesticide, but when rescuers arrived they found the chemical holding tank empty, according to radio scanner traffic.

Responding agencies included the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Tribal Law and Order, Tribal Fire Management, Polson Fire Department, Polson Ambulance and Lake County Disaster and Emergency Services.

Michelle Lovato of the Lake County Leader contributed to this story.