By AP
Enid, OK – Plane thought missing landed at private airstrip
ENID, Okla. (AP) A plane thought to be missing while flying over Oklahoma instead landed at a private airstrip.
The Enid News and Eagle reported that emergency responders had started a wide-scale search Saturday afternoon before the plane's whereabouts were determined.
Garfield County Undersheriff Jerry Niles says the Federal Aviation Administration contacted a dispatcher, saying a plane last seen on radar as being south of Enid hadn't been on radar in 40 minutes.
Niles says that led to a search of a 42-square-mile area that lasted about 75 minutes. Niles says that at about 2:45 p.m., emergency responders learned the pilot was safe and at home after landing at a private airstrip in Breckinridge.
Niles says that despite the confusion, the search did give emergency responders "some practical experience" in using their training.
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Information from: Enid News & Eagle, http://www.enidnews.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.