Senator Uninjured In Apparent Runway Excursion

It's no secret that U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) enjoys flying. His RV-8 emblazoned with the Seal of the U.S. Senate can usually be found at Wittman Regional Airport during AirVenture, and he used the airplane in campaign ads during his last run for re-election.

So it should come as no surprise that, during the July 4th congressional break, Inhofe was out flying on Sunday. But the area of Oklahoma in which he was flying was under a severe thunderstorm watch, and the weather forced Inhofe to make a precautionary landing at Ketchum, OK. It was not reported whether Inhofe was flying the RV-8 at the time, or another airplane.

Television station KOCO is among the media sources reporting that Inhofe was flying with another pilot, each in separate airplanes, when the weather forced them to land at an airport near Grand Lake. There are several in the area. FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said in a statement that the agency had been informed that a pilot had veered off the runway at Ketchum after landing about 1900 local time Sunday to avoid hitting a deer that had wandered onto the pavement. While the name of the pilot was not released, Lunsford said the agency was "investigating."

Inhofe spokeswoman Donelle Harder said confirmed that he had been out flying Sunday and that weather had forced him to make a precautionary landing. Harder waid that Inhofe was uninjured and returned home to celebrate July 4th with his family.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.inhofe.senate.gov