Published: October 28, 2008 08:29 am      

Pilot survives Brazos crash landing

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO COUNTY – A Cesna plane crashed Sunday afternoon in the Brazos River near Village Bend Road, knocking out power to area residents and sending the pilot to the hospital.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jason Dudley confirmed they were notified of the wreck at 3 p.m. Sunday and secured the area. They also notified the Federal Aviation Administration.

Dudley reported the plane’s sole occupant was the owner/pilot, Steven Michael Toft, 51, of Fort Worth.

Toft was reportedly flown by air ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital with lacerations and a head injury. He was reportedly in stable condition, according to officials.

FAA Inspector Dale Johnson told the Index they have yet to determine a cause of the crash. He confirmed that the plane, a Cesna 172, sustained “sufficient, substantial damage.”

The plane apparently clipped an electrical line in its descent, according to various officials.

United Cooperative Services Vice President of Communications Marty Haught said they were notified around 4 p.m. that a plane clipped one of their electric distribution lines.

“Originally, 165 meters were out,” Haught said, adding that some houses have more than one meter. “The line snapped but the poles were fine.”

Though he’s not visited the site himself, Haught said, “The span was 900 feet long from pole to pole. Each pole is 40 feet tall on each side of the river.”

In order to restore power, the electric company had to rebuild the line. According to Haught, “We had the power [completely] back on at 7:45 p.m.”

According to Johnson, the plane had not been removed from the scene as of early Monday afternoon and the crash is still under investigation.