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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 17, 2005 Pilot escapes injury despite crash landing Plane goes topsy-turvy at Prospect airport By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune A pilot from Selma flipped his plane while landing Saturday afternoon during a fly-in at the Prospect airport. Pilot George Satmar was uninjured after his 1954 Cessna 180 somersaulted off the runway, but he expected to take plenty of ribbing from his fellow pilots attending the event, a fund-raiser for the Prospect unit of Jackson County Search and Rescue. At about 12:15 p.m. Satmar approached the rural airstrip on a ridge outside of Prospect from the south to land. When he hit the runway, the plane’s brakes apparently locked, causing the tail to swing around and the plane to veer left, said Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Pat Rowland. Rowland started the investigation to file preliminary reports on the incident for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. The federal agencies will continue the investigation Monday, he said. As soon as the plane’s wheels left the asphalt runway, "the wheels dug in and it flipped," Rowland said. Satmar said it happened so fast that by the time he realized his landing wasn’t going by the book, "it was too late to do anything but just go for the ride." Advertisement "I could just think ‘uh-oh, this is it, I am dead,’ " he said. Moments later he scrambled safely from the upside-down plane onto the dusty grass at the side of the runway. He was alone in the four-seat plane. "He lucked out," said Phil Duyck, a Forest Grove pilot who was sitting under the wing of his restored 1947 Piper when the crash happened directly across the runway from him. "If he had been going any faster he’d have been in the canyon." Just beyond the western edge of the runway where Satmar’s plane came to rest, the ground drops away steeply. A boom truck lifted the plane upright again. Satmar and a huddle of other pilots assessing the bent propeller and dusty crumpled wings estimated the damage at about $40,000. The plane is worth between $75,000 and $100,000. "I just canceled the insurance a month ago," Satmar said. He’s been flying since the early 1990s and has experience landing on back-country airstrips. He has attended the Prospect Fly-in for the past eight years, initially traveling from his previous home in Seattle. "I used to get a prize for coming the farthest. I’ll get a worst-landing prize for this one," he said with a wry grin. This was the 16th annual fly-in, which attracts pilots from throughout the West for a barbecue dinner, camp camaraderie in tents set up next to the runway, and Sunday breakfast. Coordinator Keith Stockebrand said the event draws 50 to 60 planes in a good year, but the high cost of aviation fuel had thinned the crowd to about half that this year. Still, a variety of planes — from painstakingly restored historic models to odd-looking experimental craft — were on hand. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Pilot escapes injury despite crash landing ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Computer Security Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Air Purifiers Advertisement s