NEWS
Private plane crashes at Telluride Regional Airport
No injuries reported in accident
By Katie Klingsporn
Editor
Published: Friday, April 6, 2012 6:07 AM CDT
A small plane botched its landing into the Telluride Regional Airport on Wednesday afternoon, bouncing on the tarmac and attempting to take off again before coming down hard, crumpling its landing gear and sliding to a stop approximately 100 feet off the runway, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.
Two adults and two minors were aboard the private aircraft, a 2008 Cessna 400 Low Wing, and all four were examined and released on scene following the incident, the sheriff’s office reports.
“Everybody walked away from it,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Chris White.
The passengers’ names had not been released as of press time.
According to reports, the incident occurred a little before 3 p.m. as the plane was attempting to land at the airport.
The pilot reported to deputies that he had attempted a first landing, but aborted that after realizing his craft was too high.
On his second attempt, again approaching Runway 9 from the west, he experienced some kind of problem — authorities suspect a tailwind may have been the culprit — and apparently touched down with a few bounces.
At that point, he attempted to take off again for a third approach, he told deputies, but his craft went into a stall.
The right wing then touched down on the tarmac and the plane hit the ground, crumpling the landing gear.
It came to a stop in the dirt on the northwest side of the tarmac.
Deputies, along with Telluride Fire Protection District and Emergency Services, responded to the scene.
After being examined by medical personnel, the passengers refused further treatment and were released on scene.
The airport was closed for about an hour and a half due to the incident, White said.
The extent of damage to the plane was uncertain on Thursday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, deputies said.
Airport Manager Rich Nuttall’s voicemail said he is out of the office this week, and a woman who answered the phone at the airport Wednesday afternoon said she couldn’t give any information until further notice.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2012/04/07/news/doc4f7e35d9327bc882294806.txt