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Plane lands on Highway 218 after running out of gas
Pilot is one of two who flew around the world last year to fight polio
Oct. 21, 2024 1:29 pm, Updated: Oct. 22, 2024 7:52 am
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No one was injured when a small biplane landed Saturday evening on Highway 218 west of Iowa City after it ran out of fuel, according to the Iowa State Patrol and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
The plane had a single pilot, John Ockenfels, of Swisher, who landed near the 94-mile marker on the highway and steered the Stearman model biplane into the drainage ditch. There were no injuries and no damage to the plane, according to a news release.
Johnson County sheriff’s deputies helped Ockenfels refuel, and then the deputies and troopers stopped traffic on the highway for about a minute so Ockenfels could take off. He arrived safely at the Iowa City Airport, which is the same airport he had left from, the news release states.
Last year, Ockenfels and Peter Teahen of Robins together flew a Cessna T210M single-engine airplane around the world in an effort to raise money to fight polio.
The flight, which ended July 30, 2023, at The Eastern Iowa Airport, took 90 days and included several delays for mechanical issues and hospitalizations. It raised more than $1 million for Rotary International’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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