Cincy Reporter

A Warren County flight instructor recalls the moments after the 1946 plane he and a student were flying in lost engine power and eventually made an emergency landing on Caesar Creek Lake in Massie Township on March 16.

According to WKRC, the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirms a plane crashed just before 4 p.m. on March 14 at Caesar Creek State Park.

"We were, obviously, without power, losing altitude fairly quickly," instructor Ryan Pennington told WKRC. "I didn't want to be in the tree line. The impact of trees could be much more catastrophic."

Pennington told WKRC they were flying over the middle of the lake when the engine stopped working. When he realized an emergency landing couldn't be avoided, he quickly decided the lake would be the best and safest option to go down.

Both he and his student were uninjured in the crash and were able to get to the shore before emergency responders arrived at the scene, WKRC reported. Pennington said doesn't believe the plane will ever take flight again, but both he and his student, who was only on his second flight, are ready to get back up in the air noting the crash didn't deter his ambition to learn how to pilot. 

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Robert Burd credits Pennington's piloting skills for the outcome of the crash, and noted the plane was slowed down to a point where "it wasn't as violent as it possibly could have been," according to WKRC. 

Burd said the crash could have ended "a lot worse" since the water grabbed the wheels, causing the plane to flip. Investigators with the Ohio State Highway Patrol will send results of their investigation to the Federal Aviation Administration and planned to have the plane taken out of the water that very day.