80-Year-Old Pilot Speaks Out After Plane Crash Captured on Video
"If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing."-Chuck Yeager
David Reser, 80, talked to KABC in California about the moment his plane forced him into an emergency landing that turned into a plane crash at Upland Airport.
He faced to big problems; his propeller flew of, and oil covered his windshield. He was essentially flying blind.
Reser relied on 48 years of flying experience when the propeller flew off. He wanted to avoid any homes in the area, so he headed for the runway in a dive at first. He knew he wasn't going to make the runway, he was going too fast and he was too high.
"My first thought was when the wingtip hit and it was starting to turn, I thought, 'So, this is the way you die, huh.'"
David Reser was uninjured, and was even seen walking around shortly after the crash. The plane was a homemade Thatcher CX-4, built by Reser, which took him six years to complete.
Despite the close call, he can't wait to get back in the air.
Read more at ABC 7