A grandmother of five from Denver was flying her small plane cross-country when the engine quit in midair over Missouri and she was forced to make an emergency landing in a muddy field.
Emma Hanner, 78, was flying her two-seater plane home to Denver from Lexington, N.C., on Thursday when the propeller stopped suddenly west of St. Louis.
“It just quit,” Hanner said. “When the propeller on the front of the plane goes around, it keeps the pilot cool. But when it stops, that’s when the pilot starts to sweat.”
As the plane hit the ground, one wheel dipped into an irrigation ditch and buckled underneath the plane. That bent the plane’s nose down and spun it around, Hanner said, jolting her forward and slamming her face into the steering yoke. A cut beneath her nose was her only injury.
Hanner said it was her first emergency landing in nearly four decades of flying. She described the 1970 Grumman AA1 as “like a Cessna 150, but it’s got a bigger engine – more powerful.”
Her daughter, Carol Hanner, said her mother caught the flying bug after her son learned to fly at 15. Emma Hanner flies a couple times a week and planned to have the plane repaired. She intends to return to Missouri to get it, then fly home.
“I love that plane,” she said.
DENVER
17-year-old found in apartment pool dies
A 17-year-old boy pulled from an apartment pool Saturday later was pronounced dead at Swedish Medical Center, Denver police said.
The boy was among a group of juveniles who gained entry to a secured, indoor pool area at the Cobblestone Hill apartments, said Denver police spokesman John White.
Police arrived at 7200 E. Evans Ave. about 5 p.m., White said. He could not comment on the nature of the boy’s injuries, but said police are investigating the death as accidental.
It was not immediately known if alcohol or drugs were involved, or how long the boy was in the water, White said.
Police did confirm the boy’s identity, but could not reveal it because he is a juvenile.
PARKER
Student in custody in school disturbance
A 17-year-old Ponderosa High School junior arrested Friday in connection with a disturbance that led to the school’s evacuation has been booked into a youth detention facility.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was held at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center for investigation of possession or use of explosives and unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds, both felonies, and interference with school staff, a misdemeanor, said Cocha Heyden, Douglas County sheriff’s spokeswoman.
After a loud noise was heard near the school Friday morning, authorities found the youth carrying chemicals in his backpack that could have been used to produce the noise, Heyden said. Ponderosa students were sent home for the day.
The district attorney will decide whether to file charges. No one was hurt, and authorities believe the student intended only to scare classmates.
Douglas County schools Superintendent Jim Christensen said the district should discuss closing its schools each April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre and a date on which school disturbances and threats have become common.
LAKEWOOD
Roadside memorial for teen torn again
People twice have stolen or torn apart flowers and a pink cross left at a roadside memorial site for a 17-year-old girl killed last month in a head-on collision, her mother said Saturday.
“This hurts deeply,” said Michelle Stricklen-Long, mother of Samara Stricklen. “I do not want anyone to forget her. She does not deserve this, and neither does my family, to be re-victimized by someone’s senseless act, tearing the (memorial) site.”
Stricklen was killed March 13 when a car driven by a 16-year-old Green Mountain High School student collided with a car she was riding in. The accident severely injured 20-year-old Seth Mutschler, the driver of the car carrying Stricklen.
The memorial site at Florida and Alameda avenues in Lakewood was destroyed April 1 and then again Friday night, Stricklen-Long said.
The 16-year-old driver, who police say had been drinking at the time of the crash, was taken into custody but has not been charged. She is free on a $10,000 bond.
A grand jury was convened earlier this month to investigate the crash.
BROOMFIELD
Section of U.S. 36 to close overnight
The city of Broomfield will close all lanes of U.S. 36 starting at 9 tonight so workers can replace an overhead sign.
The closure will be in place between Wadsworth Boulevard and 96th Avenue – the Interlocken Loop – until 4 a.m. Monday.
“For the safety of the traveling public and the crews, a full closure of U.S. 36 is required,” said Colorado Department of Transportation traffic engineer Larry Haas.
