Plane crashes at Sisters airport

A small plane crashed at Sisters Airport Monday evening, but the pilot walked away with only minor injuries.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, deputies and the Sisters-Camp Sherman fire personnel responded to the Sisters Airstrip on Barclay Drive to investigate a report that a plane had gone down at the north end of the runway.

Units arrived on scene at about 6:40 p.m. to find a 1961 Cessna Skyhawk 172 B single engine plane sitting approximately 150 feet from the east edge of the runway. The pilot, Tom Barrier III of Sisters, had climbed out of the wreckage under his own power and had only suffered some minor cuts and scrapes.

An investigation of the incident revealed the pilot, Barrier, had flown his airplane from Tillamook to Sisters. As he was in the final stages of landing the plane he observed a subject standing on one of the taxi-ways that leads to the main runway.

Barrier felt the subject's proximity to the runway was unsafe and he quickly made the decision to power-up and attempt to go around for another landing attempt. As Barrier nosed up, a cross wind moved him to his right towards a tree-line that runs parallel to the runway.

Barrier's plane struck a tree, damaging the plane and causing it to crash. The plane landed right-side-up and Barrier was able to exit the aircraft under his own power. There was no fire.

Barrier was checked by rescue personnel at the scene and released.

The NTSB and FAA were notified and are continuing their investigation into this incident.