Family uninjured when plane flips after emergency landing

The passengers of a single-engine airplane survived when it made an emergency landing and flipped over near Green Valley Road and State Route 18 on Monday evening.

The passengers of a single-engine airplane survived when it made an emergency landing and flipped over near Green Valley Road and State Route 18 on Monday evening.

The plane was carrying members of a family from Oregon and was preparing to land at Auburn Airport at about 6 p.m. when apparent mechanical trouble in the aircraft forced the pilot to try landing in a freshly plowed agricultural field. After touching down, the plane flipped, according to Mountain View Fire and Rescue/Fire District 44.

The passengers were four family members. Their names weren’t released, but they escaped the incident uninjured. They were able to leave the crash site with relatives and friends, officials said.

The family took off from Burns, Ore. at 4 p.m. on the flight to Auburn, said Tim Perciful, a spokesman for the fire district. As they neared their destination, the plane’s engine apparently began losing oil pressure and the pilot decided an emergency landing would be necessary before they could reach the airport. He turned east and found the open field near Green Valley Road.

After landing, the plane hit an irrigation pipe while rolling to a stop. The pipe caught the front wheel, which caused the aircraft to flip over.