Pilot Escapes Injury In Plane Crash

A Colorado man escaped injury when his home built lightweight airplane lost power and he made a crash landing along Interstate 80 late Saturday afternoon.

Ty Witt, 21, of Lamar, Colorado was moving the plane from Lamar to Sidney's Lloyd Carr Field and was approaching the airport just prior to the incident. Witt said as he flew toward the field, another aircraft called on the radio informing local air traffic it was on final approach.

Witt said he went around to the west to come in second when the engine on his 400-pound aircraft sputtered. He said the engine later stopped altogether and he turned toward an open field north of the interstate and just east of I-80 Exit 55.

"But it didn't glide that far," Witt said. "It came down too quick."

Very aware of interstate traffic, Witt then tried to set the craft down on one side of the eastbound lanes. By the end of the ride, his aircraft rolled off the paved surface and rolled into the median. Witt was uninjured, and no other vehicles were damage in the incident.

The Sidney Volunteer Fire Department and Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and provided traffic control during the incident.

The craft was loaded on a trailer and taken to the airport. Federal Aviation Administration officials were notified of the incident and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate.