BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — A single-engine plane crash-landed on its belly at the Black River Falls airport with its wheels up. There was no fire. The pilot, flying solo, walked away shaken but unhurt. Without explanation, Jackson County Sheriff Wadera declined to release the pilot’s name but said he had forgotten to lower the landing gear. The plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, built in 1978, apparently was on a 44-minute flight from LaCrosse. The sheriff said the Black River police dispatcher learned of crash almost simultaneously from the airport, which is three miles south of town, and from an air-controller at LaCrosse who had lost contact. This was about 2:40 p.m. The Black River airport has a single 4,600-foot asphalt runway. The runway, will require gt least 24 hours to repair the surface, said Frank Voge, airport manager.
Flat on its belly. With propeller bent. Typically a Bonanza seats four but can be configured for six. Market value for a 1978 vintage Bonanza ranges from $370,000 to $420,000. It’s a popular plane. Almost 19,000 have been manufactured since its 1947 introduction.
