Touched Down At The Old St. George Airport In Utah

A pilot flying an F33A Beech Bonanza landed at a closed airport last Thursday morning before turning around and immediately departing the area.

The St. George News reports that the plane landed at the old St. George Airport, which has been closed and is being converted into facilities for Dixie Tech. Students and faculty were surprised to see the plane land in the gravel that at one time had been a runway at the airport.

The school's assistant IT manager Ryan Merrill recorded the landing on his cell phone. The plane appears to bounce on the runway after touching down on the gravel and heading toward the school's industrial building.

But after it slowed down enough to do so, the pilot turned the plane around on what is left of the taxiway at the former airport, firewalled the throttle and took off again.

St. George Police said that the plane is registered to an owner in Anaheim, California. The pilot contacted authorities at the new St. George Regional Airport to inform them about the mistake.

The St. George Municipal Airport operated from the early 1930s to 2011, when it was replaced by St. George Regional airport. It has only recently become the home of Dixie Technical College, and plans are for a technology business park called Tech Ridge to be built on the site.

FMI: Source report