No one was injured Tuesday afternoon when a single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing in a field north of Poplar Bluff.
The 1950 model Cessna 170A went down after the pilot experienced electrical problems, Poplar Bluff Regional Business Airport manager Gary Pride said.
The pilot, Richard Ryan of Roseville, California, was traveling across the country and had left Oklahoma earlier in the day, Pride said, when the aircraft developed trouble.
“There was no radio traffic,” Pride reported. “He says he had an electrical issue which prevented him from having navigation and communications.
“He began searching visually for the Poplar Bluff airport.”
The aircraft reportedly was low on fuel, Pride said, and Ryan “was afraid he could not make the airport, so he chose to land in a corn field.”
The location, Pride said, was approximately 5.5 miles north of the city near Highway O.
The soft ground, Pride noted, caused the plane to flip over on its top when it touched down.
Ryan was able to walk to the nearest road and get a ride into Poplar Bluff, where he contacted the airport. Pride then picked him up and the pair returned to the crash site.
According to Pride, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, after which the airline will be dissembled and removed from the property.