Plane crash lands in Newport, Arkansas; Pilot out safe

A small plane crashed after experiencing engine trouble in Jackson Co.

(Jackson County Sheriff's Office)

NEWPORT, AR  – Newport Police say a plane that crashed within city limits was having engine trouble before it made a crash landing.

Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas says responders first received a call at 10:37 a.m. about the crash at the intersection of Hwy 14 and 17. He says David Edmonds of Edmonds Aviation was traveling back from Newark to Newport when the plane's engine started sputtering, forcing Edmonds to make an emergency landing in a muddy field.

According to Newport Police Officer Patrick Weatherford, David Edmonds was attempting to make the emergency landing in the open field when it flipped over.

Sheriff Lucas says Edmonds was able to leave the crash without major injury.

The plane never caught fire, nor did it leak fuel, added Sheriff Lucas; the engine problems may have come from water getting into the fuel line.

NEWPORT, AR —A pilot escaped serious injury when his plane crashed near a highway in Newport.

The pilot, 54-year-old David Edmonds of Batesville, told authorities the engine died and he attempted to land in a field. He said the muddy conditions caused the plane to flip over as he landed.

Authorities say the crash happened around 10:30am Monday near the intersection of Arkansas highways 14 and 17 in Newport.