No injuries were reported after the pilot of a small plane crashed near Worthington. The Cessna 185, a small single-engine plane, crashed in a wooded area near a swimming pool in the backyard of a home in the Olentangy Highlands subdivision on Columbus’ Far North Side.
60 year old pilot Christine Mortine, was the only one aboard the plane when she experienced engine problems and attempted to return to Ohio State University’s Don Scott Airport for an emergency landing. The plane was bound for Ohio’s Lake Erie islands when the crash occurred last Monday at 9 a.m. The Ohio State Highway Patrol also reported no injuries on the ground. Personnel from Worthington Fire and EMS, Worthington and Columbus police departments responded to the scene.
A neighbor who heard the crash believed that a tree had fallen when he looked out of the window and saw part of the plane.
“I came out right away. I was calling 911 as I was crossing the street. The neighbor from across the way was already there. The dispatcher asked how many people are injured so I shouted, how many inside? He said there’s no sign of human life at all. The pilot had walked away and walked to the front of the house.”
- Bernard Kohler
At the crash scene on Wednesday, a crew had removed a section of the aircraft’s wing and set it on a flatbed trailer. Keith Holloway, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stated that the owner of the plane and the insurance company typically are the ones who handle the cleanup at the site of the crash.
The Aviation Safety Network said that the Cessna 185 began to experience issues during the climb to altitude after takeoff from the airport. Mortine stores the plane in a hangar at the airport, where she also runs a flight instruction business.
Currently, the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the accident. According to the FAA Registry records, the plane was manufactured in 1980 and had no record of maintenance or other issues.
Residents living near the airport have been complaining about the amount of planes they have seen flying over their homes. Stephanie Morgan, executive director of the Air Transportation and Aerospace Campus College of Engineering, said that the airport is looking to change the runways so fewer airplanes will fly over the neighborhoods. This will increase safety and reduce the noise levels.
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