Dec. 26, 2018 – Hartford, WI – Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ruling in connection with the Dec. 12, 2018 emergency plane landing in Hartford.
The pilot, Don Muehlbauer, walked away from the field where he landed.
The plane went down around 6:02 p.m. in a field to the west of Kettle Moraine Road and to the south of Hilldale Road.
According to Hartford city administrator Steve Volkert the FAA determined ice on major parts of a single-engine plane caused the pilot to make the emergency landing behind Goeman’s Rapid Mart.
Temperatures that night hovered freezing compiled by the light rain and fog caused the icing. The pilot was able to land the plane without major injury but considerable damage to the plane did result. Fire and Rescue teams were called but were quickly released after checking out the pilot for injury.
Muehlbuer from the Town of West Bend walked away from the scene. Authorities said the plane landed without the landing gear down.
There is some damage to the front panel of the plane which rests deep in the back of the field.
Scott Lofy farms the property where the plane went down. “For him to walk away from this is pretty remarkable,” said Lofy.
According to the Washington County Sheriff:
Emergency personnel responded and located the pilot walking near the roadway. He confirmed he was the sole occupant and that he suffered minor injury as a result of his emergency landing. While flying from Kalamazoo Michigan, he prepared to land at Hartford Municipal Airport with his 1979 Beech A36 plane.
When lowering the landing gear, his plane engine lost power, prompting his need of an emergency landing. He believed the engine failure was a result of ice build-up on his landing gear mechanics. After landing without landing gear, he contacted family and proceeded to walk towards the road where he was met by emergency personnel.
His 1979 Beech A36 plane is 27 feet long with a wingspan of 36 feet. There is substantial damage to the plane as a result of the emergency landing.
