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Police and firefighters respond to the downed airplane near the Fiddlers Creek neighborhood.

Pilot lands airplane near church, houses
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: February 20, 2020

Jerry Hawkins was in the backyard of his home in the Fiddlers Creek neighborhood around 3 p.m. Feb. 16.

He was doing some work to prepare his garden for the spring growing season, when he heard an airplane nearby.

It's not an unusual sound on this side of town, where a couple of grass runways are active with small airplanes when the weather is nice.

There was something different this time.

"I saw an airplane headed south," Hawkins said. "It had already crossed 85th. It was flying low and slow. I knew something was wrong. They were too low."

Hawkins was right.

The pilot of the single-engine Cessna 170 managed to avoid houses and a nearby church, landing hard in a field south of 85th North.

The airplane had just taken off from the runway in the High Point neighborhood north of 85th.

"I don't recall if landing gear hit the ground first, a wingtip or the tail, but I do recall the plane didn't hit the ground evenly," Hawkins said. "It spun and whipped around pretty rapidly."

Hawkins called 911.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene.

The pilot, Jimmy Elliott, 44, of Hesston, suffered a cut above his left eye. Three others onboard were not hurt.

Police Capt. Matt Vogt said the pilot had an issue during takeoff that affected control of the plane. It was forced to make a hard landing.

Vogt said a representative with the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene and made a report to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Hawkins said he ran toward the wrecked airplane.

"I could see four people exiting the plane ahead of me," Hawkins said. "There were three adult men and one teen, and they walked toward the fence by the church. There was fuel leaking from the engine."

Hawkins said the four people quickly got away from the airplane.

"I saw who I assumed was the pilot," Hawkins said. "He had a roll of blue paper towels. He had been blotting blood from a scratch on his forehead. I didn't see anyone else appear to be injured in any way, but they all looked disappointed and a little shaken up."

Meanwhile, Laurie Dove was inside her house in the Fiddlers Creek neighborhood.

"I love hearing and seeing the planes take off and land at High Point," Dove said. "It's one of my favorite things about living in Fiddlers Creek."

She heard a plane take off and it sounded to her like the engine cut out a couple of times.

"By the time I went outside to check, a group of neighbors had gathered outside my house and the plane was on the ground to the west of our cul-de-sac, facing the airstrip it had come from," she said. "I didn't see the pilot bring it down, but he was able to avoid the backyards and fences of my neighbors."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registry, the 1947 Cessna is owned by Jimmy and Amy Elliott of Hesston.

The plane is stored in a hanger in the High Point neighborhood.

The wrecked plane was hauled away from the scene on Feb. 17.

"In our 16 years here, I've never seen this happen," Dove said. "But it doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for living near the airstrip."





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