Plane crash lands on road

WASILLA — A pilot walked away unhurt from a dramatic crash landing on Seward Meridian Parkway Monday morning.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Assistant Central Mat-Su Fire Chief Michael Keenan said. “He crashed in the parking lot of Image Audio and ended up landing in the road right in the middle of Seward Meridian.”

The crash was reported at around 8:30 a.m., Sept. 30. In addition to Keenan and his Mat-Su Central crews, Alaska State Troopers also were on scene. They say the plane crashed after pilot, Jeffery Burwell, 42, of Wasilla, didn’t get enough lift on taking off.

“The plane struck a light pole in the parking lot of Image Audio, causing the plane to nose onto the asphalt and slide across the ATV trail onto Seward Meridian Parkway,” according to an AST press release.

Troopers say Burwell was on his way to go bear hunting in King Salmon.

Borough photos from the crash identify him as the man behind the wheel of a forklift used to carry the downed plane the half-mile up Country Fields Circle to his home, where he’d taken off.

Troopers say about 10 gallons of fuel spilled onto the road. Keenan said cleaning up that spill was his crew’s main job at the accident scene.

He said it took about an hour to get everything cleaned up and hauled off. During that time, troopers directed traffic around the area.

Keenan said he’s been at scenes of crashes on major roads before.

“He was lucky,” Keenan said of Burwell.

Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters agreed that crash landings on roadways happen from time to time. After a 2007 emergency landing on the Parks Highway, she said troopers would prefer that to the alternative of a fatal crash. Monday she amended that.

“I prefer a pilot to walk away regardless of where they land or crash,” she said. “The pilot walked away without any injuries that were reported, and that’s the best scenario that you can hope for.”

Troopers estimate that the plane, a Piper Super Cub PA-18, was a total loss and was valued at $80,000.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were both notified of Monday’s crash. The NTSB has opened an investigation.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.