A student pilot is lucky to be alive today after safely landing his plane when it lost power just after takeoff. This past Saturday, a student pilot took off from the Front Range Airport, just east of Denver, in a single-engine Cessna 172 when the plane lost power about 100 feet in the air.
Fortunately, the student kept his cool and was able to land the plane in a dirt field just south of the airport. The airport’s director Jeff Kloska says that’s not always a student pilot's first instinct. “Inexperienced pilots will at least attempt to turn back to the airport,” Kloska says, “In that situation, make a tight turn, and in many cases that will cause the aircraft to stall.”
Although the plane struck a few powerlines, the pilot and another occupant of the plane were able to walk away from the incident unharmed. The plane was towed back to the airport and although it’s not clear yet what caused the aircraft to malfunction, Kloska says it’s fortunate that no one was injured and it could easily have been much worse.
Source: MY FOX 8