Plane nosedives into home near Oregon airport; pilot, homeowner survive

Plane hits Ore. home; pilot, homeowner survive

PORTLAND, Ore. — A small plane stalled and nose-dived into the roof of a house south of Portland on Friday, but the 70-year-old pilot and the homeowner survived.

Authorities said George Bahrman was practicing takeoffs and landings at a nearby airport shortly after noon.

Carl and Betty Mason told The Oregonian they heard a crash, like two cars colliding.

“I went running because my neighbor was screaming for help, and I went there, and she got her dogs out, and the pilot was sitting on the roof of the house with blood streaming down his face,” Betty Mason told the newspaper.

Bahrman was taken to the hospital, but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, the Marion County sheriff”s office said in a statement.

The Masons identified the homeowner as Sally Jones.

Sheriff’s spokesman Don Thomson said Jones was in the doublewide home when the plane hit the roof near the edge of the house. She was not injured.

Photos showed the plane’s tail sticking up from the roof. It was described as a 1956 single-engine, two-seat Aeronca Champion.

Betty Mason said the plane stalled before it crashed. The sheriff’s department said a cause was not immediately determined.

The Aurora State Airport is in the northern tip of Marion County.