Pilot walks away from crash landing

There were no injuries in an airplane wreck involving a Cessna 185 just after noon on Sunday at the Carson City Airport. The plane had not cleared the runway when its engine failed and it nosed into the dirt just east of Goni Road.

Captain Eric Bero of the Carson City Fire Department, who witnessed the crash, said that pilot Cy Nye of Washoe Valley did an excellent job of guiding his plane in this very dangerous situation.

"He (Nye) maintained enough airspeed so that he landed in control. That's why he wasn't hurt," Bero said, noting the Cessna was flying on the north side of the runway westbound, descending rapidly from about 300 feet.

At the end of the runway the plane turned south, parallel with Goni Road, in an attempt to land on the airport's perimeter road. But as it turned it nosed into the dirt.

"When he touched down, he drug a wing and hit a small berm which launched him over the airport perimeter road," Bero said, noting at that point the right main landing gear came off. The plane hit ground again, flipped around, and was facing north when it came to a stop.

"The pilot did it by the book," an airport employee who preferred to remain anonymous said.

The landing gear box was ripped out, the wings severely damaged, and there was extensive damage to the underside of the plane, which was built in 1976. Cost for repairs was estimated at about $75,000.