Pilot OK after landing small plane in Butler County field

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A small homebuilt airplane made an emergency landing Thursday morning in a Butler County pasture, and the sole occupant walked away with only a minorinjury.

The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. after the pilot, identified by police as Michael Axelrad of Pittsburgh, took off from Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in the experimental plane.

Mr. Axelrad “immediately experienced a power loss,” Penn Township police Sgt. Cheryl Cranmer said. “As he was turning it around to turn back to the airport, he had what they call an off-runway landing. He was trying to bring it down into a field but managed to bring it down in ahorse pasture.”

The plane, which landed about 1½ miles from the airport, had damage to its propeller but otherwise appeared intact, Sgt. Cranmer said. Its front end was lodged in brush.

Mr. Axelrad, who the sergeant said was in his 60s or 70s, had a scrape on his forehead and was treated at the scene by ambulance personnel.

A fence was struck, but no other property was damaged, according to Sgt. Cranmer. Fire, police and medical units responded to the scene, as did someone from the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. An agency spokeswoman said the aircraft was a Van’s RV-4, which is listed as a two-seater and is constructed from a kit.

Sgt. Cranmer described Mr. Axelrad as an accomplished pilot. She said he did not know why the craft lost power.

“He’s been flying it for a couple of years, so it’s not like it’s a new plane for him. He built it himself,” Sgt. Cranmer said, adding that he told her he had been working on it for about two decadesand flying it for four years.