Storm forces experimental plane down, no injuries for Doniphan pilot

Updated 3 p.m. Monday, July 15 with correction.

NEELYVILLE — Stormy conditions Wednesday afternoon forced a Doniphan pilot to make an emergency landing in a rice field near Taylor’s Stateline Travel Center.

Just after 3:30 p.m., Butler County Sgt. Aaron Pratt was sent to the area of the Stateline Travel Center after a woman called and reported seeing a plane go down in a field east of the business.

When Pratt arrived, he said, he found a Challenger, “what was referred to as an experimental aircraft.”

The dual-seat plane “was upright and did not appear to have any damage,” Pratt explained. “A search was conducted for the pilot and any passenger.”

No pilot or passenger were found at the scene, he said.

Pratt said deputies were contacted by various people who arrived at the scene, including area farmers.

“We obtained a potential name of the pilot,” who was contacted by telephone at his home in Doniphan, Pratt said.

The pilot confirmed he was by himself at the time of the incident, and he was not injured, Pratt said.

“It was not a plane crash; it was an emergency landing from what I have gathered based on the investigation,” Pratt said.

The pilot made an emergency landing “due to the severe weather conditions from the storm, a gust of wind forced him” to land, according to Pratt.

When The pilot landed in the rice field, he was attempting to land on an air strip located adjacent to the travel center’s property, said Pratt.

The runway, as well as a small airplane hangar are located on the north side of the property, Pratt said. The rice field is located east of the runway, about a quarter of a mile from the hanger.

At 3:45 p.m., Pratt said, a subject “that knows John received a telephone call, and (the pilot) told him his plane was down in a field.”

The pilot has not provided any details regarding flight destination, according to Pratt.

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This version of the story has been updated because the Daily American Republic was provided incorrect information. Contrary to what was reported in the DAR’s Thursday edition, John M. Marret was not the pilot. Updated information provided by the Butler County Sheriff’s Department identifies the pilot as Larry M. Kersey of Doniphan.

The DAR regrets the misinformation and any inconvenience it may have caused.