(Okoboji)– A Council Bluffs man escaped injury when a plane he was piloting crash landed around 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Spirit Lake Airport.
The pilot, Bill McGinn, told authorities his flight originated in Omaha and that he was destined for the Spirit Lake Airport when the plane developed electrical problems. He says he lost communications when he was about 10 minutes away from the Spirit Lake Airport. The plane approached the runway from the north. The back wheels touched down, but the landing gear on atleast one side of the front didn’t deploy. The nose gear buckled and the propeller struck the ground, causing the engine to quit. The plane skidded on its belly about a third of the way down the runway, with the left wing striking the ground.
The 1960 Beachcraft Bonanza sustained an estimated 30-thousand to 40-thousand dollars damage.
The Arnolds Park-Okoboji Fire and Rescue crews stood by as a precaution and assisted in removing the plane from the runway once clearance was provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Firefighters were on the scene nearly three hours.
They were assisted by the Okoboji, Arnolds Park and Milford Police Departments, Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management, airport staff and Lakes Regional Healthcare paramedics.
