Don't Try This With Your Airplane

Three people escaped injury Friday afternoon, when their Cessna 172 flipped over while landing at Beaver Marsh airstrip, south of Chemult, OR.

Pilot William Boyd, 41, of Hillsboro, OR was flying with two passengers in the area around Crater Lake when he attempted to land at Beaver Marsh, reports the Salem-News. However, Boyd reportedly didn’t know the strip was covered with about three feet of snow, and the aircraft flipped over as it touched down.

Oregon State Police Sergeant Mark Crisp said the incident happened at approximately 2:20 pm. Crisp was about a mile away when he heard the call and responded, hiking half a mile to the airstrip.

Boyd and passengers Benjamyn Pazit, 36, of Hillsboro, and Jonathan Edelson, 37, of Israel, walked away uninjured.

The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, Chemult Ambulance and the Oregon Department of Transportation also responded to the call.

The privately-owned, 4500-foot strip is listed as rough, unimproved dirt, and is specifically noted to be "Closed In Winter."

Chemult is located approximately midway between Sunriver and Klamath Falls, on U.S. Highway 97. The Beaver Marsh strip is a mile south of town, and is visible just west of the road. This part of Oregon is well-known for receiving significant amounts of snow in the winter.

The Oregon State Patrol gave the men a ride into Bend to rent a car so they could leave the area. The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of the incident.

FMI: www.faa.gov