The pilot of a small cargo plane was injured after his plane went down near Ohio State’s Don Scott Airport around 10:45 p.m. Monday.

Duane Revennaugh, 45, was the only person on board. He was transported to Riverside Methodist Hospital and treated for head and face injuries, said Dale Gelter, airfield operations manager at the OSU airport.

“As of right now, he’s still in the hospital, but expected to recover,” Gelter told The Lantern Tuesday afternoon.

The plane, a twin-engine Aero Commander 500B numbered N888CA, was hauling cargo, Gelter said.

The aircraft is registered to Central Airlines Inc. in Fairway, Kan., a company that routinely transports lab specimens through Don Scott, said Deputy Chief Richard Morman of OSU police.

The plane “was coming into the airport and he was preparing for landing and something happened and he lost power, apparently,” Gelter said.

Morman said OSU police received an initial call at 10:47 p.m. and responded.

“We actually got a call from a Don Scott tower indicating they had cleared a plane for landing and then they lost contact with the aircraft,” Morman said.

The plane went down in a hilly area in the southeast corner of the airport.

“When you look at the terrain, he’s very lucky that things worked out,” Gelter said. “I think he did a good job trying to find an open spot clear of any houses. He did a remarkable job succeeding in that.”

Columbus Fire Department received a call about the crash at 10:52 p.m.

“Station 11 is right there at Don Scott Airport, so they did respond,” firefighter Bill Ehrgood said. “Because there was not all that much, they put some absorbent down in the area. Primarily it was taking some precautions with the pilot.”

Gelter said the airport did not incur any damage. There was no stream contamination and no animals were harmed. The plane, however, was not as lucky.

“I don’t know if it’s totaled or not. To me, it looks like it would be,” Gelter said. “I think it would cost considerable amounts to do repairs to it.”

Gelter said the cargo company the pilot works for would decide what to do with the damaged plane.

Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration were at the airport Tuesday morning. The FAA, along with Ohio Highway Patrol, will conduct the investigation of the crash.

All materials on the plane are to stay on board until the FAA and Highway Patrol finish investigations, Morman said. None of the materials on board are hazardous.

“The FAA is investigating,” said Elizabeth Cory, an FAA Great Lakes Region spokeswoman. “Our investigations typically take several weeks before they’re completed and the investigation has begun.”

 

 

Andy Gottesman contributed to this story.