PENNSYLVANIA Pilot walks away from plane crash

The craft's landing gear became entangled in a 69,000-volt power line.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. -- A Shenango Township pilot walked away with minor injuries after his ultralight aircraft tangled with some power lines as he tried to make an emergency landing Sunday at the West Middlesex Airport.
Shenango Township Police said Gary A. Fobes, 58, of 3314 Hubbard-West Middlesex Road lives just a few blocks away from the grass airstrip owned by Nick Dyda.
"He flies out of there almost daily," said Police Chief Ronald Preston.
Fobes took off shortly before 7 p.m. and was headed north toward nearby Interstate 80 when his craft began experiencing engine problems, Preston said.
The motor was dying as Fobes turned the craft around and headed back to the airport.
He almost made it.
Preston said the craft was just too low and clipped the top line of four power lines that cross the Hubbard-West Middlesex Road at the north end of the airport.
What happened next: The impact swung the craft downward and it fell through the other three power lines, its landing gear catching on the bottom wire, Preston said.
The wire didn't snap but stretched enough to allow the ultralight to be lowered slowly to the ground and Fobes was able to release his safety belt and drop three or four feet to the ground, Preston said .
"This man is one lucky, lucky guy," said Randy Coleman, area manager for the Pennsylvania Power Co., noting that the line Fobes' aircraft tangled with carried 69,000 volts of electricity.
Leaking fuel from the hanging ultralight caused a fire and Fobes suffered some minor burns on the back of his neck, Coleman said.
He also had a cut above his left eyebrow, Preston said.
The fire spread to grass and weeds on the ground but that caused no serious problem, Preston said.
Power outage: The crash also knocked out electrical service to 6,400 customers, Coleman said. A Penn Power crew was quickly able to reroute power, and service was restored at 7:35 p.m.
However, the road was closed for at least five hours until the wreckage was cleared and repairs were made to the power lines.