By Associated Press - Monday, October 3, 2016

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) - A Flasher man escaped injury when the small airplane he was piloting caught on fire after a scary landing at the Mandan airport.

The Highway Patrol says the plane landed short of a runway and a wheel deflated about 4 p.m. Sunday. The plane skidded on its belly along the runway and then caught on fire after coming to rest.

Seventy-three-year-old pilot Rodney Ritz exited the plane before it caught on fire and wasn’t hurt. The plane was destroyed.



The patrol and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

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