Plane makes emergency landing on Lancaster Road

ST. JOHN – A pilot experiencing engine problems made an emergency landing Friday, Feb. 5, just outside of town.

According to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, pilot Steven Krauss, 58, of Florida, was forced to land on Lancaster Road, near Kackman Road, about 10:25 a.m.

Taking off at about 9 a.m., Krauss had left Felts Field in Spokane Valley in a 1977 Piper Arrow, the Sheriff’s Office reported. As he was nearing the area at 6,000 feet altitude, he began having engine problems, Undersheriff Chris R. Chapman said.

Krauss descended and successfully landed in the middle of Lancaster Road, Chapman said.

Area residents assisted Krauss in towing the airplane off the roadway, he said. No damage was reported.

The FAA was advised of the incident and will investigate the incident, Chapman said.

The emergency landing was the second incident involving a general aviation aircraft in Whitman County in a month.

On Jan. 8, a small plane landing at Schoepflin Field flipped at 2:05 p.m.

Two people - a flight instructor and presumed student pilot - were aboard the Cessna 170 at the time of the crash at Schoepflin Airport, 801 Ringo Road, the Whitman County Sheriff's Office reported.

The FAA and Sheriff’s Office have yet to release the name of that pilot.

A spokesman at the airport said the plane was at the field "for instructional purposes," but was unable to offer any details.

The aircraft, a 1955 fixed-wing single engine plane, is registered to William Cannan of Petaluma, Calif., FAA records show.

A preliminary report from Chapman said deputies determined a flight instructor and student were practicing landings when the plane bounced on landing, went into an adjacent field and flipped onto its top.

The FAA is investigating that incident, as well.