2 survive small plane crash in woods of western Maine

PHILLIPS – A pilot and passenger survived when their small plane crashed Thursday morning during an attempt at an emergency landing in western Maine, authorities said.

After reporting engine problems, the pilot tried to land the single-engine airplane in a field but crashed nose-first into nearby woods, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The pilot, George Gall, 56, reported that the Cessna 172 was having engine problems at 9:45 a.m. and went down soon after, McCausland said.

The lone passenger, Walter Lamont, 31, of Troy walked to a nearby road where he was met by a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy. They returned to the crash site, where it took rescuers 45 minutes to extricate Gall from the wreckage.

Gall, who was believed to be from Searsmont, was airlifted by medevac helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, according to McCausland, who described Gall’s injuries as severe.

Lamont suffered cuts and bruises and was transported by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

The flight apparently originated in Waldo County and was bound for Vermont, McCausland said. After refueling in Pittsfield, Gall radioed that the plane was having engine problems and that he would be forced to land.

He initially wanted to land in Rangeley, but then switched to a closer airfield in Phillips, McCausland said. When he could not make it to either location, he tried to touch down in a field but didn’t make it.