Plane Crash Sends High Voltage Power Lines Tumbling Down on Top of Trucker
Scottsbluff, NE – A livestock hauler was at the receiving end of a crash involving a small plane and a power line Tuesday morning in Nebraska.
According to local outlet KRVN, the incident occurred just before 9 a.m. along Highway 71 near the Scotts Bluff Country Club.
Sheriff Mark Overman said a small crop-duster plane struck a power line sending the aircraft crashing into a nearby cornfield.
As a result of the crash, investigators said about 21 poles dropped to the ground and approximately five miles of high-voltage was severed.
One of the high-voltage lines struck the front of a semi-truck belonging to Greeley, CO-based JBS Carriers and hauling a load of cattle while traveling south on Hwy. 71.
Thankfully, the trucker and his load of cattle were not seriously injured.
The trucker, identified by the Star-Herald as Jerry Joe Landin, told the outlet he was hauling around 35 cattle and driving to Greeley.
“I’m just driving along and suddenly boom, crash! I had time to think ‘What the heck?!’ And pretty much it just stopped me in my tracks here,” he said to the Star-Herald.
Landin said the cattle seemed to be unharmed in the incident, but stated he could not touch the truck following the incident due to the live wires.
According the Landin, the cows would “frequently scuffle” and moo, which would shift the trailer.
Approximately four hours after the incident, the cattle were transferred to another trailer and returned to Chandler Feed Company, he told the outlet.
Landin also said he suffered a head injury but was not taken to the hospital.
Photos from the scene show the semi’s windshield and top of the truck damaged as a result of the fallen line.
The pilot of the plane suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, and was transported to a local hospital.
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Omaha.com identified the pilot as 60-year-old Mike Uhlken.
As of publishing, Uhlken’s condition is unknown.
About 2,400 electrical customers in the Scottsbluff area lost power as a result of the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board was called to the scene to investigate.
Photo courtesy KRVN
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