Pilotless Plane Takes Off, Flies For 2 Hours, Crashes

A small airplane took off without its pilot Sunday and flew for nearly two hours before crashing in a field.

Paul A. Sirks of Dayton had landed the single-engine plane at Urbana’s Grimes Field airport because of mechanical problems, said police Officer Mike Hughes.

The plane’s engine stalled on a taxiway and Sirks got out to restart it by hand-turning the propeller. Once the engine started, the empty plane taxied away without Sirks, nearly hitting another plane and a hangar before becoming airborne.

The plane circled the area for about five minutes before heading northeast, tracked by another private pilot and State Highway Patrol aircraft.

It finally went down about 90 miles away in central Ohio, some 50 miles northeast of Columbus, said Patrol Lt. John Born. Authorities said it may have run out of fuel.

The Federal Aviation Administration, Highway Patrol and Urbana police were investigating. No charges had been filed against Sirks.