NEW MELLE, Mo. (AP) - A cut below her nose was the only injury 78-year-old Emma Hanner suffered after the engine in her small plane quit, forcing her to land in a field west of St. Louis.
The propeller on the two-seat 1970 Grumman AA1 stopped suddenly in flight Thursday, forcing the grandmother of five to bring it down in a muddy farm field near New Melle.
"It just quit," said Hanner, who recently moved to Denver from Lexington, N.C., to be closer to her children. She had returned to Lexington to ferry the plane to Denver.
Fortunately, there were plenty of open spaces below her.
As the plane hit the ground, one wheel dipped into an irrigation ditch and buckled. That bent the plane's nose down and spun it around, jolting her forward with her face hitting the steering yoke, Hanner said.
A passer-by called police. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.
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Er...a bit old to fly isn't she?