Pilot OK in Rostraver Airport crash
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
An investigation is underway after a small airplane overturned during a landing Sunday at Rostraver Airport.
Maurice Haas, the airport’s director of public safety, said the pilot landed on runway 26 when something went wrong and the aircraft went into the grass and flipped onto its roof.
“The pilot was coming in to land, but when he touched down something went wrong and he ended up in the grass and the plane flipped,” Haas said.
The pilot, who was not identified, was flying alone and able to remove himself from the plane before first responders arrived on scene.
Haas said the pilot suffered minor injuries, mostly brush burns, and was evaluated on scene by Rostraver West Newton EMS.
The Piper J-3 Cub plane is based at the Rostraver Airport and had to be towed from the scene.
Haas said the cause of the incident was unclear, but it did not appear to be an emergency landing. No other pilots were on the runway at the time of the incident.
The runway was temporarily closed while the incident was cleared and reopened to flight traffic around 4:30 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration will handle the investigation. Officials from the FAA are expected to contact the pilot today.
