Police said a Union Township man escaped injury Monday when the plane he landed at Porter County Regional Airport got caught in a strong wind and rolled over.
Around 9:50 a.m., the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, Washington Township Fire Department and Porter EMS responded to a single-engine plane crash at the airport, according to Sgt. Jamie Erow, public information officer with the sheriff’s department.
The 1947 Stinson model 108-2 had just landed on runway 1836 with all wheels down when a strong west wind pushed the plane off the roadway, casing it to roll over.
The pilot, Carl Lane, 54, had a valid pilot’s license, Erow said, adding the Federal Aviation Administration is handling the investigation.
In an Oct. 22, 2013, Post-Tribune article, Lane and his wife Lee said they found the bright red plane in California in 2009.
At the time, the couple received permission from the Porter County Plan Commission to build a grassy airstrip on property they were in the process of purchasing in Porter Township, along County Road 100 West.
“We were looking for a ‘tail dragger,’ and we wanted something from this era,” Lee Lane said then.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
