Small Plane Loses Engine Mid-flight, Makes Emergency Landing in Douglas County Hay Field

A pilot flying a Cessna 195 was forced to make an emergency landing in a hay field south of Mansfield Thursday afternoon around 1:20 when the single engine failed.

Douglas County Undersheriff Tyler Caille said the pilot and his wife, the plane's only passenger, were in the Everett area earlier in the day. They were on their way to Billings, Montana when the plane started going down near Mansfield. Initially the plane was thought to be somewhere around Jameson Lake, but updated coordinates from the FAA revealed the Cessna had gone down in the St. Andrews area.

"When they were about 10,000 feet the pilot reported when the engine had the failure. It stopped and then they had to glide." explained Caille, "He did his best. He was trying to make it to the Mansfield Airport, but conditions weren't conducive for that to happen, so he ended up making a controlled landing in the wheat field."

There were no injuries and the pilot was not cited for any kind of infraction. There was reportedly minimal crop damage. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Mansfield Ambulance and Douglas County Fire District 5 all responded to the incident.

The plane was eventually towed from the field by a neighboring farmer, who offered to store the plane on their property until storage arrangements and repairs can be made.