PAROWAN — A 74-year-old glider pilot escaped with minor injuries after making a crash landing in a field of sagebrush near Parowan on Monday, officials said.
Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Humphries said the incident occurred shortly before noon, with the initial call coming in at 11:59 a.m.
“He got too low and couldn’t get his height back up to make the runway and decided to put it down in the field just east of the old Paragonah highway,” Humphries told Cedar City News. “He landed and it skidded for about 200 feet.”
Online records show the 2018 single-seat experimental aircraft has a 56-horsepower engine and is registered to a trustee based in Malibu, California.
“He hit his head on the instrument cluster when it happened,” Humphries said of the pilot, adding that an ambulance crew responded and checked him out as a precaution.
“They did transport him to the hospital but it was just minor injuries,” he added.
Humphries said that both the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were contacted. However, because injuries were minor and there was no damage to property, neither agency needs to do an investigation, he added.
This report is based on preliminary statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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