NEWPORT, OR (KPTV) -
A 95-year-old pilot who survived a crash landing on the Oregon Coast said he prayed for his life as he set down the plane.
Jack Hagerty, who has been flying planes since 1939, managed to make the rough landing at the Toledo Airport over the weekend. He set the plane down on the runway before it made a sudden turn and veered off the runway, witnesses said.
It clipped a hangar before crashing into a ditch. The single-engine Cessna 150 plane was totaled.
"It kept trying to make me go to the left and I was trying to bring it over here and all the sudden it let go," Hagerty said. "And now I was screwed and I couldn't get away from there."
Firefighters said the plane had a mechanical failure in one of its pedals, affecting Hagerty's ability to steer.
Hagerty was injured in the crash, but is recovering at an Oregon Coast hospital.
"I'm Irish Catholic so I had the Lord taking care of me," he said.
He said the crash is the worst thing that has ever happened during a flight, but it doesn't change his love for flying.
"You can take an airplane and you can look at everything," he said. "It's wonderful."
Hagerty is well known in local flying circles. On his 90th birthday, he illegally flew a plane under the Yaquina Bay Bridge just to prove he could pull it off. The FAA suspended Hagerty's license because of the stunt, but he got it back a year later.
After this week's crash, Hagerty told FOX 12 he may fly again, but not like he used to.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation.) All rights reserved.
