Pilot injured in Muncie plane crash remains hospitalized in critical condition
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Bloomington man who was badly hurt April 1 when his plane crashed near the Delaware County Airport remains hospitalized in Indianapolis.
Officials at IU Health Methodist Hospital said Tuesday that Craig Allen Richards, 65, was listed in critical condition.
According to a case report by the Delaware County Sheriff's Department, Richards was trying to land his Piper Cherokee plane shortly after 10:20 a.m. April 1 when it struck trees west of the airport near the Cardinal Greenway.
Two Muncie residents, walking a neighbor's dog on the greenway at the time of the crash, were also injured.
Richards, a longtime Bloomington businessman, had to be extricated from the badly damaged plane by Muncie firefighters.
More: Pilot, two trail walkers injured in plane crash near Delaware County Airport
He was taken by ambulance to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Methodist Hospital.
Three witnesses told a Delaware County sheriff's deputy they saw the plane "circle around twice over the field west of the (greenway) and disappear into the trees on the (trail)."
The Muncie couple walking on the trail at the time of the crash both suffered burns, according to the report.
The woman told the deputy she heard the airplane's engine "as it circled around west of her location," then saw the plane "flying in her direction."
She reported the plane "looked like it was flying low but she thought it was going to clear the trees."
However, the plane "crashed through the trees," resulting in "a large fire from the airplane on the (greenway) that only lasted a few seconds," resulting in burns to one of her legs.
The male pedestrian said he was "unable to get away from the fire quickly enough to avoid getting burned."
Both were taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. The man was apparently more severely burned and was also treated at an Indianapolis hospital.
The dog accompanying the couple was also injured and was treated at nearby Boyce Animal Hospital.
The plane crash — apparently the first involving serious injuries at or near the Delaware County Airport in more than two decades — remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Pilot hurt in Muncie plane crash remains hospitalized
