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I-25 doubles as runway
Castle Rock may not have its own airport, but in a pinch I-25 converts into a landing strip and later a makeshift runway for take-off.
Chris Lawson/dcphoto@ccnewspapers.net
A 1961 Piper Comanche is pushed into position onto southbound Interstate 25 before taking off Wednesday afternon headed for Jefferson County Airport. The small airplane made a safe emergency landing earlier in the day when the engine stopped according to pilot Jason Sosebee.
By Erin Frustaci
Castle Rock may not have its own airport, but in a pinch I-25 converts into a landing strip and later a makeshift runway for take-off.
At least this was the case Wednesday morning when a 1961 Piper Comanche aircraft executed an emergency landing on Southbound I-25 at mile marker 181 just south of the Wilcox exit. No one was injured in the incident and the plane wasn't damaged.
"We were lucky to be in a place where there was a nice big road nearby," said pilot Jason Sosebee of Centennial. "Someone was looking out for us."
Sosebee was flying the private plane with two passengers from Jefferson County Airport heading to Santa Fe, N.M., then to Las Vegas when he encountered engine problems. An alternative route through the Mountains had been discussed, which could have proven much more dangerous.
"Of course you get nervous, but you can't get freaked out by it," Sosebee said. "You just have to keep flying and go from there."
Sosebee, who has been flying for 16 years - six for an airline - knew he needed to act fast. He was hoping to make it to a nearby field, but when he realized that wasn't going to happen, descended over the interstate. Traffic cleared the right lane, making room for the airplane.
"From the time the engine quit running on us to the time we landed must have been one and a half to two minutes at most," Sosebee said.
With 5,000 hours of flying under his belt, Sosebee said he has never had a problem that forced a landing like Wednesday's.
Phil Wolf, owner of the plane, and his wife Kathy were heading to a Chrysler convention in Las Vegas. The couple from Golden owns several dealerships and has been in the automobile business for more than 30 years.
Kathy Wolf said they purchased the four-seat aircraft about three years ago. She and her husband were planning to meet their children in Las Vegas at the convention, but decided to cancel the trip after the ordeal.
The engine just cut out and when there was no noise, Kathy Wolf said she knew something was wrong.
"I didn't know if it would be a bad thing, all I could think about was hope we wouldn't land on traffic," she said. " I kept thinking about my family and my grandchildren."
She was flying with Sosebee for the first time, although her husband had flown with him half a dozen times. The two men recently returned from a trip to Montana.
At about 8:49 a.m. the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department and Colorado State Patrol responded to the scene of the landing. Offers arrived before she had even gotten out of the plane, Kathy Wolf said.
"The first thing I did was called my son and told him we were fine, that we had an emergency landing, but I didn't know where I was," she said.
Right after the landing, which she described as very smooth with a big bump when hitting the ground, she didn't think there was any way she would ever get back in the plane. After having some time to settle, she reconsidered.
"I'll just put this behind me and move forward," she said.
John Saar, a flight mechanic with Straight Flight in Centennial, was called out to inspect the plane along with another mechanic. The Federal Aviation Administration was also notified immediately.
Saar said the problem was in the aircraft's fuel pump, which was not creating enough power.
The plane spent a couple months grounded in Colorado Springs recently for a yearly checkup, as required by the FAA.
Saar said a new fuel pump had just been put in the plane a couple weeks ago and had been installed properly.
"It's a fluke," Saar said. "A lot of times when things come out of maintenance that's when something happens. It does happen."
Hours later, mechanics were able to install a new fuel pump. Southbound I-25 was shut down and the plane pushed back onto the highway. The pilot climbed in and started it up. Within minutes the plane bid farewell to where automobiles roam and was flying the happy skies once again.
Contact Erin Frustaci at efrustaci@ccnewspapers.net.
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