Man lands plane in family’s front yard

WESTERLY, R.I. - A Connecticut pilot with 20 years of flying experience managed to avoid hitting a house while landing his disabled small plane in the front lawn of a home in Westerly.

Doug Durand, 44, of Danielson, was pulling an advertising banner on his way back to Westerly Airport from New Haven when his one-seat, single-propeller plane lost power at about 5 p.m Saturday.

Durand managed to jettison the banner. He hit three sections of fence railings on Ocean View Highway during the landing but managed to miss the house and utility wires.

The plane’s landing gear, fabric and the frame of the wing were damaged in the landing, but Durand was not injured.

An aeronautics inspector at the scene ruled out the 40-year-old plane’s age or fuel supply as factors in the mishap.