Plane lands in field after power outage

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An aircraft made an emergency landing near the SH 130 toll road and FM 812 Wednesday afternoon after experiencing a power problem.

Remarkably, everyone on board, including a student pilot, flight instructor and six-year-old girl, made it off safely without any bumps or bruises.

The student pilot, who is already licensed and was just continuing his flying education, said he was shaken up and had no idea when he took off from Georgetown this morning he would be getting a crash course in landing.

"We are happy that we are alive, you know, that we are down safe and Jerry's daughter is good you know," said Jeff Alino, who was working on his instrument rating and trying to get qualified to fly under instrument flight rules.

"I am just happy to be here happy to be safe," said flight instructor Jerry White, who works out of Pilot's Choice flight school in Georgetown.

Alino was flying a single-engine Cherokee plane, along with White and his daughter, when he was getting set to land at ABIA.

They were only three miles away from the airport when they lost power.

They were forced to land in a field near State Highway 130 and Farm Market 812.

It was a dicey decision considering the field was soaked from the rain and the plane's landing gear could have gotten stuck in the mud and possibly flipped the plane.

"It was quite interesting that what we did. It was one for the books, one for the books," Alino explained.

It something White, who is a seasoned pilot, said went well because he was prepared.

"My daughter was in the back, she was asleep at the time, we had to wake her up when we landed. So, unlike popular belief, these little planes can land anywhere," White added.

No one was injured on the plane and that something investigators and all passengers on board said they are thankful for.

"Oh yeah, we are very happy, any time you have a plane that makes an emergency landing and everyone walks away from it we are very happy," said Sergeant Kelly Wilkinson with the Department of Safety.

 "We had angels over us today so it was no problem," White concluded.

There is no plan for when the plane will be towed out of the field.

Investigators said the  continuous downpour of rain has left the field muddy and with a consistency much like quicksand. The condition would most likely cause a tow to sink or get stuck.

Once conditions dry-out, they will able to finish their investigation and pull out the plane.