A small airplane sustained minor damage and three people walked away unscathed after the aircraft spun around on landing at the Porterville Municipal Airport at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
The plane, a Luscombe, was en route from out-of-state to Columbia.
Three people on board, including the pilot, were uninjured, said Andrea Labonte, an employee at the airport. In fact, he said they did not know who called for fire engines and an ambulance.
Labonte said the fire engines arrived about 20 minutes after the mishap and were not needed. He said the plane did a “ground loop” on landing. That is it was caught by a gust of crosswind and was spun around.
The small aircraft ended up facing the opposite direction and the only damage appeared to be to the nose gear.
Labonte and others at the airport said a “ground loop” is not that uncommon and there was a strong crosswind when the plane touched down.
The Luscombe was made from 1933-50 and Labonte said the plane that was damaged was built in 1946.
Apparently, there is a gathering of Luscombe aircraft at the Columbia Airport this weekend. Labonte said more than half a dozen Luscombes had already landed and taken off after getting fuel on their way to Columbia, which is near Sonora.
The plane came to rest just off the runway and the airport did not have to close.
Original article can be found here: http://www.recorderonline.com
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