Small plane lands safely in desert

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 | 9:02 a.m.

A single-engine airplane landed in the desert near Durango Drive and U.S. 95 about 4 p.m. Wednesday, sending the pilot to the hospital with a cut on his nose, the North Las Vegas Airport manager said.

The exact cause of the emergency landing of the Cessna P210N is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Prior to the incident, however, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue was called to the North Las Vegas Airport because the plane was approaching the airport and was low on fuel, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The plane, which is based at the North Las Vegas Airport, instead landed in the desert about six miles northwest of the airport.

Airport Manager Doug McNeeley said the pilot was alone in the plane, and there was no fire or fuel spill as a result of the emergency landing.

The plane is registered to Eugene L. Buckley of Las Vegas. Buckley was unavailable for comment Wednesday night.

The plane landed next to Mountain Ridge Park.

The propeller was bent, and two pieces of metal covering the engine were on the ground, although it was unclear whether those pieces were removed after the landing. Otherwise, the plane appeared to be in good condition.

"There is surprisingly light damage to the airplane,' McNeeley said. "He did what appears to be a good job of landing the airplane."

The Wednesday emergency landing was the second incident involving a Cessna P210N here this week.

Another Cessna made a successful emergency belly landing at the North Las Vegas Airport on Monday after its landing gear would not come down.

The pilot of that plane had been practicing takeoffs and landings at the airport. He was alone in the plane and was not injured.