A small plane flipped upside down into the water while landing in Galveston on Monday evening, according to police, leaving the lone pilot to walk away from the wreckage and refuse medical treatment. The aircraft went over on approach to Scholes International Airport at about 6 p.m., ending up in the marshy water near the runway.
The Galveston Police Department said the plane overturned on the approach, landing in the nearby water at about 6 p.m. Officials said the only person on board was the pilot, who got out, walked away from the scene and declined medical attention. Aerial footage from SkyEye13 showed the overturned aircraft resting in the water Monday evening, per the same report.
Separately, KPRC Click2Houston reported the plane was seen upside down in a marshy area near the approach of the runway, with multiple emergency responders on scene. That outlet said it remained unclear what exactly happened or whether anyone was injured, and that it had reached out to authorities for more information and would update the story as details emerged.
An Airport Built for Organized Traffic
Scholes International Airport maintains an FAA Contract Tower on the field specifically to keep air traffic safe and organized, according to the airport's own airfield information. The tower operates daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., meaning Monday's incident occurred near the tail end of the tower's operating hours. The airport also runs an Automated Surface Observing System, which feeds pilots real-time data on wind, visibility, temperature, dew point and altimeter settings.
A Painful Recent History at the Same Airport
Monday's incident is not the first time a plane has gone down near Scholes International. A separate crash at the Galveston airport killed six of the eight people on board, including a child, according to abc13.com's earlier reporting.
Police said Monday's plane overturned after suffering a power failure.
