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Pilot suffers medical emergency on runway

No injuries, veered off runway

A small private plane veered off the runway at the Durango-La Plata County Airport after the pilot suffered a medical emergency on takeoff.

“He was looking to depart, was starting to gain speed and then exited onto the grass safety area,” said Tony Vicari, airport operations manager.

“He never got off the ground, which is a good thing, because an in-flight emergency would be much more dramatic.”

Veering off the runway required a call to the National Transportation Safety Board, Aviation Director Kip Turner said.

But because the incident was minor, it did not respond, Turner said. The plane was returned to the hangar.

The airport diverted one flight, United Flight 4770, to Montrose to keep runways clear during the emergency. Originally scheduled to arrive at 3:10 p.m., it was refueling and preparing to return to Durango at 4:20 p.m. The runway is clear and ready for the plane to land, Vicari said.

“Originally, we thought it diverted back to Denver,” Vicari said, “but it ended up in Montrose, and a lot closer. We’re back to business as normal.”

Emergency crews helped the pilot get out of the plane and checked his vital signs, but he declined further treatment, according to an incident report. Vicari had no further information on his condition.

abutler@durangoherald.com

This story has been updated to eliminate extraneous comments and include details from the incident report.



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