Pilot Uninjured After Emergency Landing Near Jones Riverside Airport

A pilot made an emergency landing in a field, after he took off from the Jones Riverside Airport and minutes later his engine stopped working.

Friday, September 25th 2020, 9:20 pm

By: Amelia Mugavero

TULSA, Okla. -

An Ohio pilot said he is grateful to be alive after his CESSNA 182 plane’s single engine failed and he was forced to land in an open field near Jenks.

Wesley Davis said he has been flying planes for over two decades, and credited his years of training and being a flight instructor to help him make a life saving decision in seconds.

"The engine just failed on me. I was just gliding, but I was too far out, so I was not gonna make it back to the airport,” Davis said. "Then I realized I wasn't gonna make it back to the airport. It was heart-wrenching, so I thought ‘what’s my next best option?’”

Davis' plan was to fly in to Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport from Dayton, Ohio to refuel. Then he planned to fly to Wichita, Kansas. Davis said he is borrowing the plane from a friend, and said he had no issues flying from Ohio to Oklahoma.

He was only at 4000 feet when his engine gave out. At one point, he thought about landing on U-S 75, but there was too much traffic.

After losing half his altitude and a lot of time, he found an open field off of 81st, just in time to glide down and land safely.

“There were power lines, and a bigger fence with cows on the other side of it that I had to clear,” Davis explained, "It's a lot of luck, but it's something we train for all the time. You just hope you never have to use it.”

Davis was able to walk away unscathed. He said multiple pilots came to check on him from the airport. Tulsa Police, troopers, and first responders all came to help.

“I’m not really a religious person, but someone was watching out for me,” Davis said.

Davis said this incident will not keep him out of the sky.

"I'm going to keep flying. It doesn't detour me from flying, I’ve been flying all of my life. I kind of wish I had a plane to go up and fly right now,” Davis said.

As of now, authorities have not released a report as to what caused the planes engine failure. The NTSB will investigate.