A pilot & his passenger escaped injury Sunday evening when the landing gear on his aircraft apparently failed during a landing at the Ephraim/Gibraltar airport at 9667 Maple Grove Road. The pilot, Stephan Covington of Longview, Texas said he & his passenger, Shaun Revils of Houston, were traveling to upper Michigan & decided to gas-up in Door County. Covington said he believed the landing gear was down when the plane approached the runway, but must have disengaged when the tires hit the pavement. The small plane slid on its belly for some distance & Covington was able to maneuver the aircraft off the runway & onto a separate cement slab. There were no injuries, but some aviation fuel leaked from the aircraft. The crash, which happened shortly before 8PM, is under investigation.
