It may not have been a smooth landing, but it was a safe one for the pilot of an ultralight aircraft.
In the late afternoon of Dec. 23, Dan Capek was driving home along Lakeshore Drive and noticed an ultralight aircraft flying in the area.
“I got home and didn’t think much more about it, until about 40 minutes later when I looked out the window and saw it (the plane) sitting in the field,” he said.
The unidetified pilot had used an alfalfa field in the 3200 block of 30th Street NE as a landing area, after his plane had engine trouble.
“I talked to the pilot and he was OK and there was only minor damage to the plane,” says Capek. “He told me his carburetor froze up, which caused engine problems and he needed to glide in to the nearest patch of flat ground.”
The pilot contacted officials from the Salmon Arm Airport and his wife, who came to the scene. Capek says the police or ambulance did not attend while he was around.
The Salmon Arm RCMP confirm they have no file on the situation.
“It was not something really major, probably the worst part was calling his wife and telling her he was stuck in a field,” says Capek. “They left the plane there until the next day and then came with a trailer and loaded it up.”
