Rescue workers from Central Emergency Services secure the scene where James Hanson crashed his Champion 7ECA plane while trying to take off from a private field near Soldotna Municipal Airport on Monday afternoon.
Story last updated at 5/6/2008 - 12:28 pm
Crash sends pilot to hospital
An Anchorage pilot sustained head and foot injuries after being involved in a plane crash Monday afternoon in Soldotna.
James Hanson's Champion 7ECA went down just after take-off about 4 p.m. at a private air strip just beyond Soldotna Municipal Airport.
Alaska State Trooper Kyle Carson said after speaking with on-scene witnesses, Hanson, 73, was flying close to the ground and struck some trees before crashing.
He was treated by paramedics at the scene, Carson said, but was conscious and talking.
"(Hanson) just lost control in some tree tops, why we don't know," Carson said, adding the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the accident further.
"The plane's a total loss. After it hit the tree tops, it struck a parked trailer and narrowly missed another plane. At this point, just the one plane (is) damaged."
Central Emergency Services Capt. Dick Kapp said CES sent two medic units and a rescue truck to the airport at 4:18 p.m.
The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft when emergency personnel responded, Kapp said. Hanson was taken to Central Peninsula Hospital about 15 minutes later.
"We did deploy hoses as a precaution because the plane was leaking gasoline," Kapp said, adding that backup was not needed. "(We were) able to stop the leak and shut off the gas."
Roger Rupp, a friend of Hanson, was close by working on his orange Piper PA-12 when the crash occurred.
"(Hanson was) too far to the left when he took off and he was never able to recover," Rupp said. "I was working on the orange plane and then jumped for my life when this one came around."
Rupp also noted that the gust lock on the plane's rudder was still attached and said that should have been removed before take off.
Friends and family were able to pull Hanson out of the wreckage before paramedics arrived, he said.
In Kenai on Monday, an accidental fire occurred at the City Dock.
Kenai firefighters responded to the fire on the pier at about 2 p.m. Kenai Fire Marshal Eric Wilcox said two flotation panels on the dock caught fire approximately an hour after workers were welding. A crane on the dock and other equipment sustained heat and smoke damage, but no one was hurt, Wilcox said.
