Walks Away With Cut Under Nose

Although she's been flying for nearly four decades, Friday was the first time Emma Hanner has ever made an emergency landing, reported the Associated Press.

Hammer had to put her plane down in Missouri during an emergency landing when her propeller stopped dead while in flight.

"It just quit. When the propeller on the front of the plane goes around, it keeps the pilot cool. But when it stops, that's when the pilot starts to sweat," she told the St. Louis Dispatch Friday.

She was forced to bring her two-seat Grumman, which she described as "like a Cessna 150, but it's got a bigger engine - more powerful," down in a muddy farm field in MO.

Hanner recently moved to Denver from Lexington, NC, to be closer to her children. She returned to Lexington last week to ferry back her 1970 Grumman AA1 and spent Wednesday night in southern Illinois. She headed out of Carmi about 11 am Friday, and when she needed gas, stopped at the airport in Washington, MO, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Her problem arose as she was crossing rural St. Charles County en route to Washington. Fortunately, there were plenty of open spaces below her.

As the plane hit the ground, one wheel dipped into an irrigation ditch, buckling under the plane. That bent the plane's nose down and spun it around, Hanner said, jolting her forward with her face hitting the yoke.

A passer-by saw the plane and called police.

What Will The Kids Say?

As with any 78-year old senior citizen who has been in an accident, one worries about what the children will say and possibly do. It is not unusual to hear stories about adult children who make the decision to take their parent's "keys" away. But the keys to an airplane?

Hanner said she flies several times a week and plans to fly again. She caught the flying bug after her son learned to fly at age 15. (He was in the Air Force and is now a commercial pilot.)

No need to worry, Emma. Your daughter, Carol, said the family won't ground you, at least not yet.

"We will wait for the official findings before we have that family discussion," she told an editor at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver.

Hanner plans to have the plane repaired and will return to Missouri to fly it home.

"I love that plane," she said.

The FAA is investigating.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.aya.org, www.aarp.org