Posted: 7/25/06
Rollins crashes ultralight plane
Charlie Rollins, 82, Caledonia, was injured after crashing his ultralight airplane on Sunday afternoon, July 23.
The accident occurred just east of the Mike and Leah Betz farm on County Road 12, about five miles west of Caledonia.
Leah Betz was standing at the kitchen window at about 2:26 p.m. when she saw the accident occur. She called 9-1-1 while Mike and their kids went to the plane.
Rollins was able to get out of the plane, walk around, and converse before rescue workers arrived. The Betzes gave him a chair and had him sit in the shade under a wing of the plane.
Rollins told them that he was coming from a fly-in breakfast in Preston. He heard his engine sounding funny, and tried to land on the road. He successfully cleared a power line, but his wing apparently clipped a tree in front of the Betz home. Rollins speculated that that caused the crash, and that he had run out of gas.
ìIím just so thankful heís all right because my first look, I thought he had died,î Leah Betz said.
The Caledonia Ambulance and Fire Department responded to the scene. Caledonia Ambulance transported him to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in LaCrosse. His condition is not known at this time.
The Houston County Sheriffís Office and the Federal Aviation Administration are conducting the investigation into this incident which appears to be related to Rollins running out of fuel.
Rollins lost his right arm in a construction accident 27 years ago, and uses a prosthetic on it.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com