Plane slides on snowy runway, across highway in Indiana

RICHMOND, Ind. — A chartered plane landing at Richmond Municipal Airport in Indiana slid on a snow-covered runway through an airport field and across Ind. 227.

The plane partially pushed through a fence that borders a neighboring farm field.

A pilot, co-pilot and passenger were not injured, according to Rodney Mayse, the airport manager. They all left the airport soon after the accident.

Mayse said the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the incident, which he said was a first in his 22 years at the airport.

Ask the Captain: Why are so many planes sliding off runways?

According to flight plans on Flightaware.com, the chartered plane left Waukesha County Airport in Waukesha, Wis., for the trip to Richmond, landing at 10:03 a.m. The plane was scheduled to fly from Richmond to South Bend and return to Waukesha from South Bend later Monday.

According to online information from the FAA, the plane is a fixed-wing, multi-engine model 400 A manufactured in 1999 by the Raytheon Aircraft Company. It is registered to Premier Beechcraft LLC in Brookfield, Wisconsin, which is west of Milwaukee.

The plane was landing on a runway that crosses south of the airport buildings and runs southwest. Mayse said the plane overshot a runway that did have snow on it. Even with dense fog, tracks from the plane's tires could be seen in the snow on the runway, then leading through a field. The tracks curved to the left in the field up to the roadway. A gouge mark crossed the roadway to the west shoulder, where more tracks led to the plane's resting place.

A sawed off fence post hung in the air near the nose of the plane, which rested on the ground, as the plane continued to face southwest. 

The plane's left wing blocked the southbound lane of 227. At first, just that lane was closed by law enforcement; however, all of 227 was closed when wreckers arrived to remove the plane. Because the plane blocked traffic, it was permitted to be removed from its resting place; however, the process was a long one.

Mayse said the plane was finally cleared from 227 about 3:15 p.m., and at that time, work continued to taxi the plane back to an airport hanger.

This article will be updated.