A single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing in a field on Saturday morning south of Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa.
The incident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. on Jan. 24, according to a press release from Sioux Gateway Airport. The plane, which had left the airport just moments earlier, came down in a field near the intersection of Andrew Avenue and 225th Street, roughly half a mile from the runway.
"The aircraft had departed Sioux Gateway Airport at 7:14 a.m. and attempted to return shortly after takeoff before the incident occurred," the airport said in the press release sent to local television station
KTIV.
Two individuals were in the plane at the time of the emergency landing. Both of them exited the plane safely and declined medical treatment at the scene, the Iowa State Patrol confirmed to KTIV.
NTD News contacted the Iowa State Patrol and Sioux County Airport on Saturday but did not hear back prior to publication.
Air traffic control
communications obtained by the Tri-State Scanner revealed additional details about the incident. The pilot told controllers, "I'm going back to the airport." When asked to confirm the statement, the pilot responded, "Correct." An air traffic controller then inquired, "Is everything alright?" but received no response. The controller subsequently announced that "the aircraft did not make it to the airport."
Flight tracking data from
FlightAware showed that the aircraft lifted off from Sioux Gateway Airport before turning around and attempting to return to the facility, ultimately landing in the field without reaching the runway.
The aircraft is registered as a six-seat, single-engine plane owned by Mulaii LLC, a Delaware-based company, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA)
aircraft registry. FlightAware records indicated the plane was in the air for approximately 8 minutes, departing at 7:04 a.m. and last documented at 7:12 a.m.
NTD News contacted the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA seeking additional details about the incident but did not immediately receive a response.
The crash landing follows a similar scene that occurred the previous weekend. A Piper PA-28-140
went down around 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18, east of the runway at Holly Springs-Marshall County Airport near Greer Road in north Mississippi, according to the Marshall County Sheriff's Office. The crash killed 29-year-old flight instructor Wesley Bolden of Marshall County and 17-year-old student Jordan Hall of Olive Branch.
The plane struck a large pine tree before bursting into flames upon hitting the ground in a heavily wooded area, according to Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, who told WMC-TV Action News 5 he personally knew Bolden's family and described them as "top of the line, top-class people." The sheriff called the crash "absolutely devastating" twice during his interview.
