Plane makes crash landing Wednesday near Colby airport in western Kansas

The pilot of a small airplane escaped serious injury in a crash landing early Wednesday near...
The pilot of a small airplane escaped serious injury in a crash landing early Wednesday near the Colby airport in western Kansas, authorities said.(WCTV)
Published: Mar. 11, 2021 at 5:37 AM CST
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TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The pilot of a small airplane escaped serious injury in a crash landing early Wednesday near the Colby airport in western Kansas, authorities said.

The incident was reported at 2:28 a.m. Wednesday in a field about a half-mile east of Colby Municipal Airport. The location was about a mile north of the city of Holton in Thomas County.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, which investigated the incident, a Beech fixed-wing, multi-engine airplane was taking off from the airport when the front wheel dolly didn’t detach from the front wheel.

When the pilot got into the air, the patrol said, he noticed that the wheel dolly was still attached and called the Colby Fire Department.

While fire crews were heading to the scene, the right engine failed and the pilot had to conduct what the patrol called “a major crash landing.”

The pilot, Kelly B. Gabel, 40, of Colby, was taken to Citizens Medical Center in Colby for treatment of what were described as minor injuries. The patrol said Gabel was wearing his safety restraints.

No one else was on board the plane, according to the patrol.

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