The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Two Bend residents escaped serious injury when the Outlaw Aviation Cessna 172 they were flying went down in a field to the west of the runway at Sisters Eagle Airport on the evening of Wednesday, March 3.

The pilot, Madison Stieber, 23, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported by private vehicle to St. Charles-Bend, where she was treated and released. The passenger, Connor Schaab, 24, received minor injuries and was evaluated by medics from the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District at the scene. Schaab was not transported to the hospital. Both Stieber and Schaab had gotten out of the plane, prior to the arrival of emergency personnel.

Stieber’s dachshund dog was aboard the aircraft and escaped, but was found the next morning unharmed.

Walt Lasecki, co-owner of Outlaw Aviation, told The Nugget that it is not yet clear what caused the accident.

“We’re unsure of the cause of the accident,” Lasecki said. “The pilot was doing a go-around after an aborted landing.”

Lasecki said that “a bystander heard a stumble” in the engine sound, but he said that “there was no failure that we could find on the aircraft. We’re still investigating.”

He noted that the plane’s “wing clipped a tree because she was running out of altitude.”

Lasecki praised the pilot’s efforts, noting that when it became clear that she wasn’t going to be able to make it back to the runway, she avoided buildings in the area so that the plane went down in a relatively safe spot.

“She did a really good job as far as that goes,” he said. “As pilots, that’s what we want.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was on scene on Thursday and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to conduct a follow-up investigation regarding the crash.

Outlaw Aviation partners with Sisters High School to give students access to an education in general aviation. The program offers ground instruction, flight instruction, pilot recertification, and other aviation services for both youth and adult pilots.

Lasecki told The Nugget that the Cessna 172, which is one of two planes the program utilizes, was totaled in the accident. He said that the program will continue operations, but will have to adjust its scheduling until another plane is brought online.