Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Cessna 150M, N8855U

Nathan Papes/News-Leader


An instructor and student pilot were not injured this afternoon when a single-engine Cessna aircraft was forced to land in a field just south of Interstate 44.

Near the 95-mile marker, the airplane landed without damage about 2 p.m.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Rob Savage said the student was controlling the plane when the engine quit for an unknown reason.

The instructor then took over the controls and landed the plane safely in the pasture.

Both the student and instructor declined to comment at the scene.

(Northview, MO) -- A flight instructor's quick thinking is to thank for a smooth emergency landing in a Webster County field Wednesday afternoon.

A flight instructor and a student were flying a Cessna when the engine stopped working. The flight instructor managed to land safely in this field near Northview. It's just 300 yards south of I-44 near mile marker 94.6.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the pair is lucky they landed without any problems.

"They were fortunate there was a good open field that was flat and fairly level and then they made the best of it with wind conditions especially," says Cpl. Rob Savage.

There's still no word on why the engine stopped working during the flight.

STRAFFORD, Mo. -- A student pilot got a memorable lesson in making emergency landings on Wednesday afternoon. He and his flight instructor had to set down a small Cessna in a pasture east of Strafford.

The two told a state trooper that the engine quit despite a full load of fuel. There was no damage to the plane.

The manager of the private Springfield Downtown Airport wasn’t sure whether the plane could be flown home or would need to be hauled back on a truck.