Pilot okay after emergency landing

VERNON – It was pretty smooth for a crash landing. No injuries, no fire.

Vernon fire rescue deputy chief of operations Jack Blair says they got a report of a downed plane around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, but didn't even have to attend the scene.

Blair says the pilot was uninjured after making an emergency landing in pasture land near the Allan Brooks Nature Centre in the Commonage.

RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the pilot knew he couldn't make it to the Vernon airport.

"The pilot was having problems with the engine, called for an emergency landing. It was a bit of a rough landing, but he set it down safely on the hill," Molendyk says.

Molendyk said the aircraft is used for bringing sky divers into the air, but at the time of the crash, there was only the pilot inside.

Molendyk says the Transportation Safety Board will likely investigate the incident, as it involved an emergency landing. The aircraft is expected to be removed today.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.

This story was edited at 11:15 a.m. to include information from Gord Molendyk.