KC pilot crashes on takeoff from Arkansas resort

LAKEVIEW, Ark. - No one was injured when a small plane trying to take off Sunday afternoon from a resort in northern Arkansas crashed, nearly striking one of the resort’s cabins.

The Baxter County Sheriff’s office was called to investigate the crash at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Gaston's Resort along the White River near Lakeview.

According to the sheriff’s report, the pilot of a four-seat Cirrus prop plane with two additional passengers on board was attempting to take off from Gaston's. The plane encountered difficulties and veered to the right. The plane’s wings struck some trees, and the aircraft then traveled about 50 yards further and came to rest in some hedges near cabin no. 71.

The aircraft was registered to RTJ Aircraft Inc. of Wilmington, Del., and was being piloted by 30-year-old Jordan Smith of Kansas City, Mo. The passengers were Matthew Stengel, 23, and Casey Stengel, 28, of Springfield, Mo.
The plane sustained heavy damage, but no injuries were reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration was contacted, and agents will be coming to the location to investigate the crash. An officer with the Lakeview Police Department assisted at the scene.