MONROE - A 1998 Cessna 172S airplane flipped over after landing Wednesday afternoon at Monroe Municipal Airport.
The Monroe Fire Department, Monroe Police Department and Green County Sheriff's Department responded around 2:45 p.m. to the airport, about two miles east of Monroe on Wisconsin 59.
Pilot Steve Garbe, 59, of Rockford was not injured. Passenger Walter Bainbridge, 77, Rockford, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by emergency personnel.
Garbe declined to comment.
Bainbridge said the plan was rolling down runway No. 2 when Garbe realized he needed to stop the plane. He hit the brakes, Bainbridge said, but the plane failed to stop. It veered off the runway, hit a snowbank and overturned.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said wind and human error appear to be contributing factors to the crash.
"I've been flying since 1949, and never had anything like this happen," Bainbridge said. "Thank goodness for seatbelts. That kept us nice and high."
The plane, a rental owned by Poplar Grove (Ill.) Airmotive Inc., was destroyed.
Bainbridge said the men flew the plane out of Poplar Grove and were practicing takeoffs and landings at various airports in the area.
Monroe firefighters secured weights and ropes to the plane to try and upright it. It took five attempts before the plane was turned upright.
A front end loader tried to flip the plane on the first three tries, but the Cessna only slid on its top. Personnel used the front end loader and the Monroe Fire Command vehicle on the fourth attempt, only to have the plane slide again.
On the fifth try, the plane flipped tail-over-nose and back onto the runway.
Airport Supervisor Rob Driver said it's never an easy process to flip a plane back onto its wheels.
"These things are made to fly, not be picked up," Driver said. "They are kind of like eggs in some ways ... and we all know what happens when you drop one on the ground."
Driver said had the plane been repairable, the attempts to flip it would have been handled differently.
"Seeing how I knew it was scrap, my biggest concern was to clear the area to prevent any further damage, whether to other aircraft or personnel," Driver said.
Runway No. 2 was shut down for more than two hours while the plane was removed. The rest of the runways remained open.
Driver said normal procedure is to cordon off the accident site and wait for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to examine the scene. Driver sent photos to the FAA and was able to clear the runway much faster.
The FAA will be at the airport today to examine the plane.
Driver said there have been a couple of other "gear up" incidents at the airport. There also have been two fatal crashes, in 1988 and 1993.
In the case of a crash at the airport, Driver said there is an emergency response plan in place. He could not talk about the plan, but said the NTSB, FAA and local police, fire and sheriff's departments "are on board."
The crash remains under investigation by Monroe authorities and the FAA.
The Monroe Fire Department, Monroe Police Department and Green County Sheriff's Department responded around 2:45 p.m. to the airport, about two miles east of Monroe on Wisconsin 59.
Pilot Steve Garbe, 59, of Rockford was not injured. Passenger Walter Bainbridge, 77, Rockford, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by emergency personnel.
Garbe declined to comment.
Bainbridge said the plan was rolling down runway No. 2 when Garbe realized he needed to stop the plane. He hit the brakes, Bainbridge said, but the plane failed to stop. It veered off the runway, hit a snowbank and overturned.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said wind and human error appear to be contributing factors to the crash.
"I've been flying since 1949, and never had anything like this happen," Bainbridge said. "Thank goodness for seatbelts. That kept us nice and high."
The plane, a rental owned by Poplar Grove (Ill.) Airmotive Inc., was destroyed.
Bainbridge said the men flew the plane out of Poplar Grove and were practicing takeoffs and landings at various airports in the area.
Monroe firefighters secured weights and ropes to the plane to try and upright it. It took five attempts before the plane was turned upright.
A front end loader tried to flip the plane on the first three tries, but the Cessna only slid on its top. Personnel used the front end loader and the Monroe Fire Command vehicle on the fourth attempt, only to have the plane slide again.
On the fifth try, the plane flipped tail-over-nose and back onto the runway.
Airport Supervisor Rob Driver said it's never an easy process to flip a plane back onto its wheels.
"These things are made to fly, not be picked up," Driver said. "They are kind of like eggs in some ways ... and we all know what happens when you drop one on the ground."
Driver said had the plane been repairable, the attempts to flip it would have been handled differently.
"Seeing how I knew it was scrap, my biggest concern was to clear the area to prevent any further damage, whether to other aircraft or personnel," Driver said.
Runway No. 2 was shut down for more than two hours while the plane was removed. The rest of the runways remained open.
Driver said normal procedure is to cordon off the accident site and wait for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to examine the scene. Driver sent photos to the FAA and was able to clear the runway much faster.
The FAA will be at the airport today to examine the plane.
Driver said there have been a couple of other "gear up" incidents at the airport. There also have been two fatal crashes, in 1988 and 1993.
In the case of a crash at the airport, Driver said there is an emergency response plan in place. He could not talk about the plan, but said the NTSB, FAA and local police, fire and sheriff's departments "are on board."
The crash remains under investigation by Monroe authorities and the FAA.