Story Archive

Up, Up and Away

Pilot Paul Sirks was out flying his vintage 1946 Aeronca Champ when he had mechanical problems and decided to land. After getting safely to the ground in Urbana, Ohio, the engine stalled on the runway. Needing to get it out of the way, he hopped out to restart it — he had to do it by turning the propellor by hand. That’s when the engine started and the plane headed down the runway, Sirks running behind. “It just got away from him, and it took off,” said an airport spokeswoman. “This plane also was trimmed for landing, which means the nose was trimmed up, so it just started climbing.” With a plane from the state highway patrol in pursuit, the plane eventually reached 12,000 feet before it ran out of fuel and crashed 90 miles away. (RC/AP) ...Any takeoff the pilot can walk away from is a bad one.