SHOWELL — What could have been a disaster last week had a happy ending after a young pilot operating a banner plane when it ran out of fuel was able to safely put the aircraft down in a dirt field a couple miles inland near Showell.
Around 3 p.m. last Friday, Maryland State Police troopers were dispatched to a report of a plane landing in a field off Peerless Road near Route 113 near Showell. Arriving MSP troopers found the pilot uninjured and the plane without any damage. The plane had been landed safely on private property in a rural area.
The preliminary investigation revealed the pilot, identified as Austin Kiehl, 23, of Montana, reported he had run out of fuel, dropped the banner he was flying and performed an emergency landing in the dirt field near Showell.
The plane involved in the incident was a single-engine Piper which was being used to fly an advertising banner over the resort area. The plane is owned by Ocean Aerial Ads, Inc. in Ocean City. Maryland State Police notified officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) per protocol, but neither agency responded because there were no injuries, no damage to the plane and no damage to private property.
