Gusty winds on Sunday apparently caused pilots to lose control of their small aircraft while landing at Friedman Memorial Airport an hour apart, resulting in crashes and damage to the planes but no injuries to the pilots.
Both were older, single-engine Cessna 180s, a "tail dragger" model with two non-retractable main landing gears and a small tail wheel. These aircraft are regarded as more difficult to handle in crosswind landing conditions than aircraft with tricycle landing gear.
The 1968 model 180H aircraft piloted by Michael Kraynick, of Hailey, flipped over and landed on its back. Friedman Airport Manager Rick Baird said damage was "significant," including the propeller and the tail surfaces.
Baird said Friedman was closed for some two hours while the aircraft was lifted and removed from the runway. Spilled fueled washed from the runway, and necessary contact was made with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board to report the incident.
He said the closure delayed the arrival and departure of other aircraft.
In the other accident, Sun Valley resident Thomas Lenze's 1973 model 180J aircraft was involved in a "ground loop"—a sudden right or left turn, often caused by a sudden wind gust—that resulted in damage to a wing.
As is the customary Friedman procedure for accidents, a number of police, fire and rescue units rushed to the scene, including Blaine County Sheriff and Hailey Police Department officers, fire units from Hailey, Wood River Fire and Rescue, Bellevue and the airport's fire and rescue units.
The rugged Cessna 180 (and its more powerful cousin, the 185) to this day is popular among bush pilots in backcountry places such as Alaska. The 180 model later was modified to become the 182 with a tricycle landing gear.
The first round-the-world solo flight by a woman was in a Cessna 180 piloted by Ohio homemaker Geraldine Mock in 1964. The flight took 29 days 11 hours.
Rescue crews attend to a 1968 model 180H aircraft that flipped on the tarmac at Friedman Memorial Airport Sunday. The pilot, Michael Kraynick, is well. Photo by Roger Parker.
