By KANDACE MCCOY
kandace.mccoy@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — An Indiana man sustained major injuries after his Rand Robinson KR experimental aircraft crashed this morning at the Mt. Vernon Outland Airport.
The pilot, Dan Freeman, of Indianapolis, was in the process of landing the aircraft shortly after 10 a.m. when a gust of wind lifted it up, causing it to teeter. The passenger wing hit the ground, causing the crash, witnesses at the scene said. The impact with the ground caused the wing to tuck underneath the aircraft, which skidded about 50 to 60 feet down the runway before coming to a stop on the shoulder of the runway.
“I came out to photograph the landing,” Dave Mullins said, “and as he was coming in he caught some wind underneath and the plane started floundering. The wing tucked underneath after it gouged the grass.”
Freeman was flying in for the fifth annual KR Gathering this weekend held at the airport, said Airport Manager Chris Collins. Collins added Freeman’s plane is one of the oldest participating KR experimental aircrafts. Mullins said the plane has logged over 2200 hours of flight time.
“Unfortunately landing mishaps do happen,” Collins said, “I just hope he’s OK.”
Freeman is being transferred to a St. Louis Hospital, according to officials.
The National Transportation Safety Board has authorized the aircraft to be removed off the runway, Collins said, and an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration into the incident continues, as law requires.
