Man on Ground Struck by Cub Landing Gear Dies

A happy ending turned tragic on Thursday when a man in a vehicle struck by a gear leg from a Piper Cub last Sunday died from injuries suffered in the accident. The mishap occurred at Boonville Airport near Evansville, Indiana. Leon Hatchett, 88, the pastor of a local church, was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries after the left main gear leg on the Cub hit the vehicle he was in while it was on a road just outside the airport. Local reports said the gear leg separated from the aircraft after takeoff from Boonville and the resulting drama gripped the local area. The name of the pilot has not been officially released.

The pilot was able to keep the Cub in the air and elected to fly around the local area to burn off fuel before attempting a landing. That gave local news crews enough time to get there and provide live coverage The landing was uneventful and the pilot was not hurt. Boonville is a 2,300-foot grass strip in Warrick County and is owned by the city. It has about 5,000 operations per year and there are about 15 aircraft based there according to Wikipedia.

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