'Rough landing'
<p>Deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office work the scene of a reported plane crash Wednesday near U.S. 95 about 10 miles south of Coeur d’Alene. The pilot and single occupant of the bi-plane, who has 40 of flying experience, reported the incident as a “rough landing” and was not injured.</p>
FIGHTING CREEK - An 80-year-old pilot walked away from what he told authorities was a "rough landing" on Wednesday about 10 miles south of Coeur d'Alene.
The pilot, Ronald Tacheny, told Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputies he wasn't injured.
The KCSO received a report from a passerby of an airplane crash off U.S. 95 near Whitlaw Road around 2:15 p.m.
Once deputies arrived on scene, they found Tacheny walking near his experimental bi-plane on his private landing strip.
"He misjudged the terrain and the left wheel struck the soft dirt, breaking the wheel assembly," a KCSO press release stated. "The plane then traveled a short distance where the left wing struck a bush and spun the plane to a stop."
Tacheny said he built the airplane about 14 years ago and has been flying for more than 40 years. The Federal Aviation Administration was contacted and given information about the incident, but due to the minor damage and circumstances would most likely not be responding, the KCSO press release stated.