Low Fuel Forces Pilot To Land Outside Prison

Guards at a prison rushed to surround a pilot who landed his small plane just outside the compound. But he was just running out of fuel, not attempting to help someone escape, so they invited him in as their guest.

John Mellish, 43, of Caldwell, Idaho, told officers he was forced to land in a dense fog Sunday night when his plane fuel gauge was low, said Lonnie Saunders, warden of the Augusta Correctional Center.

Mellish was flying alone from Seattle to Delaware and had been trying to reach the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, which is also in Augusta County.

When guards saw the plane approaching, they cleared inmates from an open walkway running through the compound. Once they determined Mellish was not part of an elaborate escape attempt, they invited him to spend the night at the prison’s visitor center.