A Thermopolis pilot with engine troubles landed his plane on U.S. Highway 20 about six miles north of Thermopolis Friday afternoon.
Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Pebbles said the pilot reported that the engine malfunctioned forcing him to set it down.
HSC Sheriff’s deputies initially responded but the scene was later turned over to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Kidgell said the pilot, George Lippincott, 68, Thermopolis was flying from Worland to Thermopolis with his 5-year-old grandson, in a 1963 Mooney M20C single-engine airplane.
The duo had flown another passenger to Worland so that the passenger could pick up an aircraft that had been getting serviced.
It was on the return trip to Thermopolis that the engine malfunctioned, Kidgell said.
He said WHP was not notified until traffic began getting backed up about 3:30 p.m., but the incident had occurred earlier in the afternoon.
Kidgell said from where the plane first started to land on the highway and where Lippincott stopped was about 2,000 feet on US 20.
He said Lippincott, after stopping, maneuvered the plane back onto the highway to be able to back down into the ditch so he would not block any traffic.
The plane’s wings were damaged when Lippincott struck the deer reflectors and delineator posts as he was trying to avoid some traffic on the highway during the landing.
No one was injured in the incident.
Kidgell said Friday evening that the plane would remain in the borrow ditch until late morning Saturday (today) when Lippincott was getting a trailer to haul the plane to the Thermopolis airport.
He said the Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office and WHP would provide traffic control into and through town.
Source: http://www.wyodaily.com
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