<\/p>\n
A pilot in a small airplane that experienced engine failure made an emergency landing Tuesday in the Kennebec Caf\u00e9 parking lot near Hesperus.<\/p>\n
The plane landed about 11 a.m. with no engine running, said Barbara Helmer, owner of the restaurant 12 miles west of Durango.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came down very quietly,\u201d Helmer said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even notice it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plane took off from Animas Airpark in Durango. The pilot was uninjured, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just quietly landed in the parking lot; just dropped out of the sky at about 55 mph,\u201d Helmer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a good job of bringing it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pilot tried to land on County Road 124, but there were too many power lines and trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got the propeller turning just enough to get a little bit of altitude again, and then he was able to make it over to my parking lot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She declined to identify the pilot.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a little shook,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my employees came in and said, \u2018What\u2019s that airplane doing in your parking lot?\u2019 and I was like, \u2018Yeah, whatever.\u2019 I thought he was kidding me, and I went out there, and sure enough, there was the airplane sitting in the parking lot. We\u2019re glad he\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
The single-engine plane is mostly white with two red lines running the length of the body and a wing above the cabin.<\/p>\n
The plane is registered to Robert Flannery of Durango, according to a tail number search on the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
The plane is an 8A Luscombe fixed-wing, according to FAA records<\/a>.<\/p>\n