Small Plane Crashes Off Of Runway In Mercer County
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The pilot of what is being described as an experimental aircraft is in the hospital after crash landing in a field in Grove City late Friday morning.
The crash happened before 11:30 a.m. at the Grove City Airport in Mercer County.
The pilot, Robert Scott Winder, who is in his 80s, was transported by helicopter from the plane crash scene. He was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital with a head injury.
Winder is the president of the Experimental Aircraft Association Number 161 based out of the Grove City Airport. He has 40 years of experience with experimental, homemade aircrafts.
GALLERY: View more photos of the crash
Officials say he was flying the experimental craft, making a number of maneuvers, but on the last maneuver he apparently lost control and didn't make the runway.
The aircraft then ended up in a ravine.
"He was doing practice takeoffs and landings. He had done three previous... four previously, and on the fifth approach, he got left of center line and lost control of the airplane and crashed into the bank," said Doug Thomas, the manager of the Grove City Airport.
Once emergency medical people tended to him there was optimism for a good outcome.
"He was awake and responsive," said Thomas.
He was flown from the scene by LifeFlight helicopter and was listed in critical condition at the hospital this afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
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