Witnesses Heard Engine "Sputtering" During Failed Go-Around

A pilot from Benton, Kansas was hospitalized in "serious but stable" condition after apparently making a forced landing following engine trouble in his 1953 de Havilland DHC-1 Saturday morning. He's identified as 55-year-old Michael Frazier, a Benton resident. An update on his condition was not available from Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he was transported.

DHC-1 Chipmunk File Photo

The Wichita Eagle cites Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) sources in reporting the crash happened about 1100 local time on the Lloyd Meshew farm at 2759 SW Prairie Creek Road, just northwest of Stearman Field near Benton.

KHP Trooper Sean Hankins told the paper the pilot's landing attempt "failed for whatever reason, and he tried to make another loop, another pass, and come back around. Witnesses said they heard sputtering and some engine issues and when he came down he hit really hard and he kind of cartwheeled and came to rest against this building."

The de Havilland DHC-1 "Chipmunk" was introduced as a military trainer in England following World War II, quickly replacing the older Tiger Moth biplane. It was powered by the Gipsy Major four-cylinder engine first produced in 1932.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov