Pilot makes emergency landing in field

TEXAS CITY — The pilot of a single-engine plane made an emergency landing Saturday in an open field after maneuvering the aircraft over a busy interstate and underneath power lines about 40 feet from the ground.

The pilot, who refused to give his name to The Daily News, walked away from the bumpy landing unscathed, and there was no visible damage to the 1975 Bellanca Scout.

The pilot, who left Pearland Regional Airport, was headed east when he apparently experienced engine trouble shortly before 10 a.m.

The plane landed in an open, bush-hogged field just east of Interstate 45 and north of FM 1765 in Texas City. The area was the former site of an outdoor theater, Texas City police said.

The plane is registered to Sky Signs, of Wilmington, Del., according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The pilot flies advertisement banners across Houston and Galveston about twice a week, Wayne Messinger, operations manager for Pearland Regional Airport, said.

It is unknown if a banner was attached to the plane when it landed. The pilot reported a bumpy landing to police.

The Bellanca has a third wheel under the tail rather than the nose of the plane, which makes it more suitable for field landings, Messinger said.

“A nose-wheel has a chance of digging in, and the plane will flip over in a soft field,” Messinger said.

The banner, if attached, could have slowed the aircraft on landing, Messinger said. Messinger knows the pilot but didn’t want to reveal his name.

The pilot, after securing the aircraft, said he had 8,000 hours of flying experience.

“He’s pretty experienced handling those things,” Messinger said. “Those aircraft are designed for short field performance. Once you get into the grass, they stop rather quickly.”

Removing the aircraft could entail dismantling the wings and towing it or repairing it and having police stop traffic on the interstate frontage road, Messinger said. The plane needs about 500 feet to become airborne, he said.