Pilot escapes injury when plane flips on Sheepscot Pond

PALERMO – The pilot of a small, pontoon-equipped plane escaped serious injury when his aircraft flipped as it landed on Sheepscot Pond Tuesday morning.

Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service, said the crash occurred sometime between 10 and 11 a.m.

The pilot, Ken Ireland, 74, of Palermo, had taken off from Beech Pond in Palermo then attempted to land on Sheepscot Pond, about two miles away, Latti said. In landing, the 1946 Piper flipped forward, burying its nose into the water.

Ireland was able to get out of the aircraft without assistance, Latti said, and a boater rescued Ireland and towed the plane to shore. The plane remained in the pond Tuesday afternoon, he said, with one wing and the front section underwater.

The state Department of Environmental Protection responded to the scene and placed a containment boom around the aircraft as a precaution against a fuel leak, Latti said.

State police Trooper Mark Nickerson responded to the scene of the accident, as did wardens Mark Merrifield and Mark Thompson.

Latti said a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration will conduct an investigation into the crash. There is no evidence that Ireland was under the influence of any intoxicants, he said.

Ireland is believed to have been flying for pleasure, Latti said. Ireland’s son is a pilot for the state police, he added.