NEW CENTURY, Kan. (WDAF) — Two men were able to walk away from a plane crash in northeast Kansas Friday morning.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said a Cessna 182 was flying toward the southwest over Osage County when the pilot noticed an engine problem. He tried to return to the airport where he had taken off, New Century AirCenter, northeast of Gardner.
According to the KHP, the pilot said the 1980 plane experienced a complete engine failure, and the cockpit filled with smoke. The pilot decided to make an emergency landing in a field just south of the Gardner Municipal Airport on the west side of Gardner.
Just before noon, the plane touched down. As it was rolling along the field, it hit a culvert, causing the front end of the Cessna to hit the ground, and the aircraft overturned.
The pilot was 59-year-old Jashwant Patel of Overland Park. His passenger was 42-year-old Gary Waters of La Cygne. They were both wearing seatbelts and were not injured.
