Red Oak plane crash result of pilot error

RED OAK — A plane crash last Tuesday morning in Red Oak was deemed a pilot error following a Federal Aviation Administration investigation. The pilot, a Clarinda man, sustained no injuries.

Around 8:30 a.m., Kevin Behrhorst was attempting to land at the Red Oak Municipal Airport. He had a few bad approaches and circled the runway before trying to land a third time. Behrhorst said he was still crooked but thought he could make the landing. After overcorrecting, he nose-dived into a bean field in the middle of the airport complex.

Behrhorst, who had flown from Clarinda to Shenandoah and was stopping in Red Oak before flying back to Clarinda, is still taking flying lessons through Schenck Field Airport in Clarinda. After two to three months of instructions, he had been given permission to begin solo training about a week ago and was out logging solo training hours at the time of the crash.

Airport Manager Gail Ernst said because Behrhorst is still a student pilot, the FFA decided to investigate the case.

The aircraft involved, a 1965 Fixed Wing Single-Engine Cessna Model 150F registered to Call One Inc. of Clarinda, sustained a collapsed nose wheel and damage to the wings. However, the extent of the damage and repair estimates will not be known until the aircraft is taken apart and fully examined. Ernst said the engine could also be damaged along with the mechanics within the wings.  

The plane has been released to its owner, Mitch Hargin, Behrhorst’s instructor in Clarinda, and is currently in the airport’s service hangar. The wings were taken off and it was hauled via trailer back to Clarinda Wednesday.

“It could be a lot worse,” Behrhorst said.

Behrhorst added this accident will not discourage him from continuing to learn to fly, something he said God intended him to do.

This is the first plane crash Ernst has experienced at the Red Oak airport, and he said it will hopefully be the last. He added this crash could have been a lot worse, though, because when a wing hits the dirt, there is the potential the aircraft could flip over.

“Thank goodness there were no injuries,” Ernst said. “I was happy with the response, though. I was still on the phone with the dispatcher when emergency vehicles started arriving.”