The old pilots’ adage “any landing you walk away from is a good one” was proven true when a Cessna 182 made an emergency landing along Highway 40 near Stoney Nakoda Casino, Friday (Aug. 16).
While flying over Kananaskis Country from Springbank airport on a sightseeing excursion, Nelson, B.C. pilot Milt Janzen and a passenger were flying north from Barrier Lake when a gauge showed an oil pressure drop at about 8 a.m. Shortly after, the engine bogged and Janzen was forced to look for a place to land in a hurry.
“We called in a Mayday to the Edmonton Flight Centre and they had our coordinates,” said Janzen, who, along with his passenger, was uninjured. “I tried landing on the road (Highway 40), but there was traffic on it and a white truck was driving where I wanted to go.
“Then I thought I’d try a field (to the west of the highway), but I noticed power lines across it. I ended up going into the ditch. I did OK, but it was very tight, this one was a real challenge.”
While lining his Cessna up to land in the ditch, Janzen’s plane clipped a Point of Interest sign which tore some sheet metal off the starboard wing. After touching down in the ditch, the Cessna rolled for a distance before the same wing clipped another highway sign and spun the plane around before it came to a rest.
Janzen has been flying since 1963, he said, “and I never had an incident. I’ve got thousands of hours.”
His passenger, a friend of his sister in law, was also uninjured. “It’s quite likely his first flight,” said Janzen, “and quite possibly his last.”
The engine trouble occurred at about 8,000 feet, said the pilot, who turned off the electrics and shut the engine down before telling his passenger to make sure his seatbelt was on.
According to Cochrane RCMP Sgt. Chad Fournier, his detachment received notice of the Mayday call at 8:20 a.m. Fournier said Transport Canada had been notified of the incident, but wouldn’t likely respond as the incident was fairly straightforward.
Fournier said the Cessna was likely going to be towed to the Stoney Nakoda Casino where the wings would be removed and it could be hauled away on a flatbed truck.
