CLINTON, AR – A plane crash near the Clinton Municipal Airport has injured two people.
According to the Clinton Police, the plane that crashed was an experimental plane with a “bubble canopy.” Apparently the canopy blew off as the plane lifted off from the Clinton airport. The pilot tried to land back at the airport, crashing in a field nearby.
Police say the pilot, Steven James, was airlifted UAMS in Little Rock. Police Chief Toney Parish says that James is an avid flyer who used to be a military helicopter pilot. Reports are that James has broken bones, but nothing life threatening.
Parish says that the passenger, Justin Allen, actually walked away from the wreck. He was taken to the hospital, but his mother-in-law says he’s going to be ok.
“We didn’t know how bad it was when we first heard it come in and we had a little trouble finding it because they kept telling us it was right off the runway when it’s actually 200 yards or more so it was kind of hidden from us but everything turned out ok,” says Parish.
The FAA will be on scene Friday to investigate the cause of the crash.
According to the Clinton Police, the plane that crashed was an experimental plane with a “bubble canopy.” Apparently the canopy blew off as the plane lifted off from the Clinton airport. The pilot tried to land back at the airport, crashing in a field nearby.
Police say the pilot, Steven James, was airlifted UAMS in Little Rock. Police Chief Toney Parish says that James is an avid flyer who used to be a military helicopter pilot. Reports are that James has broken bones, but nothing life threatening.
Parish says that the passenger, Justin Allen, actually walked away from the wreck. He was taken to the hospital, but his mother-in-law says he’s going to be ok.
“We didn’t know how bad it was when we first heard it come in and we had a little trouble finding it because they kept telling us it was right off the runway when it’s actually 200 yards or more so it was kind of hidden from us but everything turned out ok,” says Parish.
The FAA will be on scene Friday to investigate the cause of the crash.