Pilot OK after crop duster flips in Oakesdale

A 23-year-old crop duster pilot was not injured today when a gust of wind caused the pilot’s airplane to flip over at an Oakesdale landing strip. Stephen Vanderbeek reported that he had landed his Grumman Ag-Cat when the wind lifted the aircraft tail, causing the accident. The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office said the 9 a.m. accident occurred at a private airstrip near the Oakesdale Cemetery along state Highway 27. The plane’s owner was identified as Darrel Fender.