An unspecified mechanical issue caused a single-engine plane crash May 3 in Fairfield County that injured the plane’s pilot and passenger, according to a news release from the Lancaster post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Lancaster police were alerted to the crash at around 10:41 p.m. on Rainbow Drive between Noland Drive and State Route 188 in Pleasant Township in Fairfield County, the patrol reported.
Two young men – identified as Grant Keefer, 19, of Lancaster, and Harper Kline, 18, of Zanesville – were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to the Patrol. Keefer was the pilot of the plane and Kline was the passenger, the patrol said.
According to the Patrol, a 1961 Cessna 182D Skylane single-engine airplane was flying westbound from Martinsburg, West Virginia, to the Fairfield County Airport. As the Cessna approached the airport, it experienced an unspecified mechanical issue and attempted an emergency landing, according to the Patrol. The Cessna struck multiple trees before crash landing, the patrol said.
Both Keefer and Kline were transported by ground ambulance to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center with serious injuries, the patrol said.
The patrol’s Lancaster post will conduct an investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration will conduct its own separate investigation into the crash, the patrol said.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ‘Mechanical issue’ caused Fairfield County plane crash that injured two
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
