A Centralia man was not injured Sunday afternoon when his single-engine plane got a wheel stuck in a muddy field as he was landing at his parent’s home on Sassafras Road just east of Route 37 south of Salem.
Joe Phoenix was able to get out of the plane on his own after the plane stopped with its nose stuck in the mud.
“I was just coming in, the crosswind changed, it was a muddy field when you land you always touch one wheel down first in a crosswind and it was really soft and it stuck in the mud. It created a ground loop and then just rocked up on the nose. I was probably 20 miles per hour when it rocked up and stopped. It didn’t even hurt the propeller. I jumped out and we just pulled it back over.”
One of the wings, which also struck the ground, was damaged and will have to be repaired before the plane can take off out of the field. Phoenix says in a day or two, the plane should be ready to lift off from the field.
The Salem Fire Protection District and United Medical Response both were dispatched to the scene at 2:22 Sunday afternoon after a driver on Route 37 saw the plane flip up on its nose and was unsure if anyone was hurt.
Joe Phoenix with his plane after getting out safely following a rough landing south of Salem. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
