https://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/small-plane-makes-emergency-landing-at-grand-junction-airport/article_fde163ec-5cb0-11ee-befc-9356c9882b94.htmlSafe landings are always a great thing at an airport — even those that land in the dirt.
That’s what happened at the Grand Junction Regional Airport shortly after noon on Tuesday.
At approximately 12:05 p.m. a single engine private Cessna 150 contacted the airport tower with an emergency call that the plane had lost engine power and was going to make an emergency landing.
The pilot was on a final decent to the airport with Runway 11 the goal. Flying from west to east, it became apparent to the pilot that Runway 11 was out of the question, so the plane touched down safely in the dirt northwest of the Grand Junction Regional Airport, but within the boundaries of the airport.
Airport Director Angela Padalecki said the pilot was the only occupant and sustained no injuries.
Padalecki said once the emergency call came in, there was a large response from emergency responders that included the airport firefighter department, Grand Junction Fire Department, Grand Junction Police, Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Land Management.
As those emergency crews arrived on the scene and saw the pilot standing uninjured next to the plane sitting in the dirt, they determined the emergency was officially over.
Padalecki said the National Transportation Safety Board was contacted and conducted its investigation, and the plane was removed from where it made the emergency landing.
The airport director said small incidents like this — where emergency calls come into the airport — are more frequent than one might thing.
“It happens on an average of once a month, sometimes a couple of times month,” she said.
The calls from pilots in small planes in these types of situations report some kind of problem and ask the airport to be ready in case something happens, and emergency crews are at the ready, she explained.
