Bend father, son walk from plane crash near airport

A Bend father and son escaped serious injury Friday morning when their single-engine plane experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff from Bend Airport, prompting an emergency return try and crash in a nearby field, officials said.

Robert W. Mathers, 71, was at the controls of the 1974 Piper PA-28-180 that took off from the airport around 7:15 a.m., said Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. William Bailey. His passenger was his son, Kenneth Mathers, 50.

They were at about 6,000 feet over the Alfalfa area when the pilot reported “a sudden loss of engine power and was unable to maintain altitude,” Bailey said in a news release.

Robert Mathers tried to return to the airport under partial engine power, but couldn’t maintain enough altitude and crashed about a mile from the runway, the sergeant said.

The crash was reported by a property owner around 7:34 a.m. on a field in the 22000 block of McGrath Road. Deputies and Bend Fire medics responded to the scene, along with Oregon State Police.

Robert Mathers received minor injuries and was treated at the scene, while his son was unhurt. But the plane sustained heavy damage.

Sheriff’s Sgt. William Bailey said the plane had taken off from Bend Airport a short time earlier, heading for Alfalfa, when the pilot experienced engine trouble.

Mathers told NewsChannel 21 they had reached an elevation of about 6,000 feet when the engine failed. He said they tried to return to the airport to land but weren’t able to make it back.

Neighbor Cody Cleveland said the plane flew over his head while he was “enjoying a soak in the hot tub.”

“He was maybe 200 feet above my head,” Cleveland said. “The engine sounded like it was sputtering a bit, but I didn’t think too much of it, as the airport is very close.”

Federal Aviation Administration regional spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Seattle said both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, but the NTSB is the lead agency. Bailey said information and evidence from the scene will be forwarded to the NTSB.