August 17, 1995. The first forced landing put us down near the Palmer-Wasilla Highway in Palmer, Alaska. We entered the Highway area from a side street. When the plane finally touched the ground, it had one wheel in the roadway and the other in the ditch. The plane pivoted around the one wheel caught in the ditch. This caused the plane to spin around and slide backwards.
Luckily there was very little traffic on this normally busy roadway. There was, however, one vehicle on the road. As it turns out, we were sliding backwards at the same rate of speed as the other vehicle was stopping. I feel sure that our expressions matched his expression as we were eye to eye looking at each other. His comment after the fact was, "All I saw was yellow, and I hit the brakes..."
Once the plane was safely stopped on the ground, no words were spoken between me and my dad. We just looked at each other for a split second. Instantly, the seat belts were off, and we jumped out of the plane looking for any gas leaks. Nothing was found once we were out of the plane, and the reality of what had just happened was finally starting to sink in. Police, fire, and EMS were quick to respond. It was a "good landing".
March 22, 1997. The second forced landing found David at Wolf Lake, Alaska. David was practicing stop-and-go landings at a private airstrip in the area. While climbing out of a stop-and-go landing, David heard a "loud popping sound."(NTSB) David turned the plane toward a road that was about 1/4 a mile away from his location. The right wing struck a tree during this final rough landing for N9KF causing the damage seen in the lower right hand picture. Luckily, David suffered only minor injuries during this landing; however, the same could not be said for N9KF. This would be N9KF's last flight.
So it is with a heavy heart that we finally said good-bye to N9KF. Many wonderful and enjoyable hours were provided by this fun little plane. N9KF was much loved and is missed greatly.
Would I fly with my father again? Absolutely. Have I flown with him since then? Yes, and I would do it all over again.
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