Jackson – Parents of children taking a free plane ride at the 2009 Wings & Wheels saw their children take a precarious ride Saturday when a landing plane skidded off the tarmac of Westover Field in Jackson. Witnesses said the plane bumped its wheels onto the landing strip at the Amador County Airport, then the aircraft bounced up and skidded to a stop in the dirt beside the runway. Its propellers were damaged, but authorities at the field said there were no injuries in the crash. But a conflicting report to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office said 2 people from the plane were transported to a hospital to be checked out. One witness said a helicopter flying nearby may have contributed to the rough landing. After the plane stopped, parents and family members ran across the taxi road and runway to the airplane, to help remove the children. Parents were watching from a younger children’s “bounce house” area at the other end of the runway, as the free airplane rides were open only to children over age 8. A man at the bounce house said further flights to Westover Field were being diverted to a Rancho Cordova airport. About 3 more planes were allowed to land at Westover Field. Undersheriff Jim Wegner said Monday that plane crashes aren’t the sheriff’s jurisdiction, but they investigated anyway. He said the incident occurred at about 2:28 p.m. Saturday, and involved a single-engine plane with a pilot and 3 juvenile passengers on board the aircraft. The office was told there were no injuries, although a preliminary report said responders were transporting 2 people from the plane to the hospital to be checked out. Wegner said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified and “they determined it was an incident, not an accident.” He said they were categorizing as an incident, not an accident, and would not investigate. Wegner did not yet have the pilot’s name but the pilot reportedly has 15 years’ flying experience and 2,200 hours of flight time. (end) am Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.