 Pilot
escapes serious injury in plane crash
By Amy Dalrymple adalrymple@forumcomm.com,The Forum
Published August 10, 2005
GEORGETOWN, Minn. -- A pilot walked away from a crash after 3 p.m. Tuesday
near here after his crop duster stalled, clipped several trees and landed in a
ditch.
Chris Mueller, 24, jumped out of the plane as it burst into flames. He
escaped with minor burns.
The owner and operator of Mueller Aviation of Georgetown avoided crashing
into power lines, a teen on a tractor and a nearby house.
“I saw the house and I saw the kid here and I just sort of split the
difference,” he said.
Mueller was spraying a sunflower field near the Red River about a mile north
and a mile west of Georgetown.
Even before the plane landed, Mueller said he unfastened his seat belt so he
could get out of the plane immediately.
“My first reaction was just to get out of the cockpit,” he said.
The Hillsboro, N.D., native said he has been around aerial spraying since he
was a child, and he knew the plane would likely start on fire on impact. Mueller
has been aerial spraying for three years and has flown airplanes for more than
four years, he said.
David Gilbery, 15, was turning a tractor into the driveway of his
grandfather’s farm when he heard the plane hitting some trees overhead.
He watched as the plane lost power and crashed about 100 feet from where he
was parked.
Mueller said he doesn’t know what caused the plane to stall. He thinks he
was flying too slowly, which could have contributed to the crash.
Tuesday’s crash was an isolated incident, he said.
The Ag-Cat plane contained about 150 gallons of insecticide, Mueller said.
Emergency responders, including area fire departments, the Clay County
Sheriff ’s Department and a Hazmat team, responded to the crash.
Authorities were waiting late Tuesday for a Federal Aviation Administration
investigator to arrive before they could clean up the scene, said Sheriff Bill
Bergquist.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Amy
Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590
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HERE for MFD pictures from the scene.
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