Student pilot crashes in Burley, sends 2 to hospital

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Student pilot crashes in Burley, sends 2 to hospital

By Brittany Cooper

Story Published: Jul 1, 2009 at 4:48 PM CST

Story Updated: Jul 1, 2009 at 7:31 PM CST

07/01/09

A plane on its way to southwestern Idaho crashed in Burley this morning sending two to the hospital.

"We heard a lot of noise, heard things bouncing across the roof as well as some crashing."

Which is how local business owner Jeff Jentzsch described the sounds he heard; not realizing that a 1946 Republic Seabee Plane crashed outside in a vacant lot on 9th Street East and Albion.

Jentzsch, owner of Crazy Dave’s said, “"We weren't sure what happened. We went out of back door we saw some power lines swinging, plus we decided to go out the front door and look around. As soon as we came to that side of the building we saw the plane down."

46-year student pilot Kim Paulsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon and 34-year old Harper, Oregon resident, Christopher Butler were on their way to Caldwell and just refueled at the Burley Airport.

But in an incident report filed by Cassia County Sheriff's Office, Butler who was the instructor on the flight, told law enforcement that after just taking off they began to lose power and hit a power line and crashed.

According to Burley Fire Chief Steven Hamilton said, "We just know that they didn't get enough altitude to make it over the last power line."

Cassia County Sheriff officials say that when they arrived the men were out of the plane talking and suffered some possible lacerations and fractures. They were taken to Cassia Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Right now officials are still trying to gather information about the events that led up to the plane crash and how it could have happened, but the investigation could take up to days - weeks - even months.

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