Palestine Plane Accident

PALESTINE-A bizarre accident occurred involving a 6-year-old and a runaway airplane Sunday afternoon.

That accident took place just before 5:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Palestine Municipal Airport in Anderson County. Officials told us Virgil Fielden, 81, was trying to manually start his small 1966 Cessna with his 6-year-old granddaughter inside. They say the plane took off with no one in the driver's seat.

"The gentlemen was trying to prime it to start it and obviously left the key in the ignition and the airplane did start," Captain Kyle Betterton of the Palestine Fire Department said. Officials say the airplane took off bouncing off the runway. Just a few minutes later the plane landed near by in a bank of trees. Minute’s later paramedics, West-Side Volunteer Fire Department and the Palestine Fire Department arrived on scene. Fortunately when the plane crashed, it didn't catch on fire.

Officials tell us the young girl didn’t suffer any major injuries but was airlifted to the Children's Medical Center in Dallas for precautionary measures. Fielden was sent to a local hospital to be looked at as well.