Tuscola Man Makes Emergency Landing in Callahan County, Walks Away Uninjured
By: Victor Sotelo
Updated: February 15, 2013
A Tuscola man flying home from an out of state trip almost made it back to Abilene, but went down in a field of mesquite trees just northeast of town.
The airplane hit a field of trees and swung around the opposite direction that it was traveling. The pilot, 75 year old Frank Leroy Bell, left Fort Smith, Arkansas at 8:30 a.m. and just before 10:30 a.m. he declared an in-flight emergency. At first he was trying to make it to Abilene Regional Airport, but when he saw that he was not going to make it there he tried to get to Elmdale Airport just north of Interstate 20. When he realized he wouldn't make it there either he aimed for a field just inside of Callahan County near Highway 351.
The Director of Aviation at Abilene Regional Airport, Don Green, responded to the crash sight. "He was just a little bit short of the field he was going for. He just lost momentum to get there. He's very fortunate." said Green.
Another pilot flying near the area spotted the plane and led emergency crews to his location. That's where Bell walked out of the field and met them on a dirt road where the plane went down. The Department of Public Safety says Bell ran out of fuel. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the incident.
The airplane hit a field of trees and swung around the opposite direction that it was traveling. The pilot, 75 year old Frank Leroy Bell, left Fort Smith, Arkansas at 8:30 a.m. and just before 10:30 a.m. he declared an in-flight emergency. At first he was trying to make it to Abilene Regional Airport, but when he saw that he was not going to make it there he tried to get to Elmdale Airport just north of Interstate 20. When he realized he wouldn't make it there either he aimed for a field just inside of Callahan County near Highway 351.
The Director of Aviation at Abilene Regional Airport, Don Green, responded to the crash sight. "He was just a little bit short of the field he was going for. He just lost momentum to get there. He's very fortunate." said Green.
Another pilot flying near the area spotted the plane and led emergency crews to his location. That's where Bell walked out of the field and met them on a dirt road where the plane went down. The Department of Public Safety says Bell ran out of fuel. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the incident.
