SAN ANTONIO – A 78-year-old pilot who was forced to land his small plane on a street on the city's North Side said the incident was a freak accident.
William Pearson and his wife were getting ready to land their single-engine airplane Monday at a private runway around 3 p.m., when high winds made him overshoot the runway.
The airplane crashed through a chain-link fence and came to a rest in the 600 block of Heimer Road.
The pilot's 78-year-old wife suffered some back pain and was treated at a hospital and released. No other injuries were reported.
Pearson, who has been flying for more than 50 years, said he was relieved there were no children playing in the street and no vehicles were in his plane's path.
Pearson said if his plane isn't worth repairing, he still intends to fly.