Pilot, Passenger Escape Injury When Plane Ends Up in Ditch Near Mount Zion

HERVEY CITY — A light plane pilot and his passenger escaped injury Sunday morning when they had to make an emergency landing on a country road and ended up in a ditch a few miles south of Mount Zion near Hervey City.

A report from Lt. Jamie Belcher with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office said the plane landed on McDonald Road south of Hogan Road about 8:36 a.m. Belcher said the pilot told deputies on the scene that he had taken off from Decatur Airport and had been in the air for about 30 minutes when the engine started “sputtering” as if starved of fuel.

“The pilot glided the plane down and attempted to land on McDonald Road south of Hogan Road,” said Belcher. “But the landing gear did not deploy completely, causing the propeller to make contact with the roadway, sending the plane into a ditch.”

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Decatur Airport contacted the Federal Aviation Authority about the crash which then informed the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB experts then investigated the crash before the plane was towed back to Decatur Airport.

Belcher said agencies including Mount Zion Fire Department, Mount Zion Police Department, Long Creek Fire Department, Decatur Park Police and the State Police all assisted with the incident, including blocking intersections on Illinois 121 while the crippled plane was towed back to the airport.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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