Small plane makes forced landing on dirt road SE of Bend
A single-engine plane with two people aboard reported engine trouble and landed safely Sunday evening on a dirt road in the desert about 30 miles southeast of Bend, authorities said.
The pilot reported the emergency situation around 5:40 p.m.and initial reports indicated it planned to land around milepost 26 on U.S. Highway 20E, between Millican and Brothers in sparsely populated eastern Deschutes County.
However, first responders were unable to find a plane along the highway. An AirLink helicopter crew was dispatched to search for the aircraft before darkness fell, sheriff’s Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp said.
The AirLink crew found the plane had landed near milepost 8 on Fox Butte Road, south of the highway, Vander Kamp said. The air ambulance helicopter crew then landed and checked on the two occupants, who reported they were okay.
The pilot of the single-engine Van’s RV-10 plane with two people aboard reported a loss of power and landed on a dirt road near Millican, reporting no damage, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said. She said the FAA will investigate the incident.
No further details were immediately available about the two people aboard or where the flight originated or intended to land.
The RV-10 is a four-seat, low-wing home-built plane sold in kit form by Van’s Aircraft. FAA records show the plane, which received its airworthiness certificate in 2011, is owned by Alan Strickfaden of Battle Ground, Wash.
