Small Plane Crashes At Richmond Farm: Police

RICHMOND, RI — A small plane crashed at a Richmond farm Monday afternoon, according to police. No serious injuries were reported.

According to Richmond police, the crash happened at Harvest Acres Farm, on Kingstown Road, just before 4 p.m. Cindy Duncan, one of the farm's owners, told police that the plane crash-landed on the property and that the pilot climbed out of the wreckage and appeared uninjured.

The pilot, Bruce Sheets, is a 70-year-old Richmond resident. He told police he took off in his plane, a 1959 Forney Aircoupe Model F-1 single-engine, from the Richmond Airport on Heaton Orchard Road when the plane suddenly lost power. Sheets said he tried to return to the airstrip but was forced to make an emergency landing in the large field at the back of the farm. As the plane landed, the landing gear hit several solar panels, causing it to spin and crash into a chain link fence surrounding the solar field. The fence, solar panels and plane were all damaged.

Sheets suffered only minor injuries, just a scrape on his neck, police said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash and the agencies expect it will take several months to determine why the plane lost power, causing the crash.