A newspaper photograph of a plane crash in western Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1973. The photo shows George Pothering, a state aviation safety inspector, checking out the damage to the craft which crash-landed across a small creek several feet south of the northbound lane of Interstate 81 at Frackville. The pilot escaped serious injury.
News story is from the Pottsville Republican, May 7, 1973:
POWER LINE FOILS EMERGENCY LANDING EFFORT
FRACKVILLE — A light one-passenger airplane which crash-landed Saturday morning on Interstate-81 just north of here was attempting to make an emergency landing on the northbound lane of the highway when it struck a 12,000 volt PP&L conductor, according to James Haffey, Schuylkill division PP&L Manager.
Eyewitnesses said the plane was only about 50 feet above the ground when it struck the power line.
The pilot, Peter Theodosion, 20, of Lindhurst, Ohio, was rushed to Ashland State General Hospital where he was treated for cuts of the head. He was admitted and held of observation, then released Sunday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesman.
The plane apparently tangled in the lines and crash landed over a small stream several feet off the northbound lane of the highway.
The impact of the crash pushed the front of the plane back into the pilot’s seat, eyewitnesses said.
The lower voltage conductor entangled with the 66,000 volt PP&L Hauto-Frackville power line.
As a result 60,168 customers were without power from 45 minutes to two hours. The area affected was south of a line from Sunbury east to Tamaqua.
State Police from the Valmount Park and Frackville barracks kept traffic moving with the assistance of REACT teams.
Several hundred spectators gathered at the scene. The airplane crash also brought out amateur photographers who were clicking away for their scrapbooks.
A state police helicopter arrived on the scene to verify reports they had received about the airplane crash.
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News article and photo via Newspapers.com.
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