Emergency landing

What might have wound up a disaster instead resulted in an unorthodox landing Friday afternoon.

Ray Arey, explained he was flying a 1946 Ercoupe for a friend, taking the plane from the old air port to the new, when the engine quit on him. He was the only occupant of the plane.

After acknowledging the engine failure, Arey said his first thought was to try to restart it. When that didn't work, the only option left was to land it.

Arey said, "this wasn't my first flight," indicating he has plenty of flight experience.

Instead of landing it at the new airport, Arey's runway became a field about three miles off. Though he wanted to land the plane on the highway, the number of cars made that impossible.

Arey said he was OK after the landing, but thought he hit a rock when he landed as the plane's nose wheel was bent. He did not speculate on any further damage to the plane.

The plane was still located about 100 yards off the highway as of Tuesday afternoon, but Arey said arrangements were being made to move it.