PIERRE (11-5-26) — Pierre City Commission Airport Commissioner Jamie Huizenga addressed the presence of multiple emergency responders near Pierre Regional Airport last week.
He says first responders reported to the airport for an aircraft in distress… “This past Sunday, the Pierre Regional Airport responded to an aircraft emergency involving a twin-engine, Piper Seminole operated by the South Dakota State University aviation program carrying two flight instructors and two students. Although initially reported as engine trouble, the pilots were actually dealing with an avionics malfunction that affected their aircraft’s instruments. The situation was made more challenging by near-freezing temperatures, potential icing conditions and flying in the clouds after dark.”
That prompted the pilots to land in Pierre… “Given these circumstances, the pilots declared an emergency and chose to divert to Pierre knowing our of airport and emergency resources available here. In accordance with our emergency plan, an alert two response was initiated. Pierre’s aircraft rescue and firefighting ARF team, the Pierre Fire Department and Pierre Police Department responded and were in position before the aircraft arrived.”
The aircraft landed safely around 7:30 Sunday night. Huizenga says its good to know Pierre’s
airport is ready to handle emergency situations… “We have the big, really good runways and we also have the equipment in the event of an emergency. I remember two three years ago, there was a SkyWest Plane I believe coming out of Fargo going to Denver, and they had some instrument or mechanical issue and they also landed here safely. And so we’ve got a great airport out here in the middle of the state and so we can take on these different planes in the event there is an emergency and we’ve got the crew to respond if needed.”
No injuries or damage to the plane was reported.
— From Zach Nelson, KCCR Radio, Pierre, SD
