By Kim Bell St. Louis Post-Dispatch
LINCOLN COUNTY — Rescuers helped a pilot down from a thicket of tall trees in Lincoln County after his experimental plane crashed into the trees Thursday.
Pilot Mike Fleming was stuck in the trees about 70 feet off the ground after the ultralight craft crashed near 75 Wolf Creek Road, between Wright City and Troy, Missouri. The Missouri Highway Patrol was notified about 8:30 a.m.
The Missouri National Guard landed a helicopter nearby because rescuers initially believed the only way to extricate Fleming from the trees was to hoist him upward. But emergency personnel ultimately were able to use ropes to slowly lower Fleming to the ground.
He was not hurt and his wife arrived at the scene to meet him after he finally made it to the ground.
Cpl. Juston Wheetley with the highway patrol said Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies and Warren County firefighters were among the agencies that assisted at the scene.
