Houlton man walks away from minor plane crash

  HOULTON, Maine — The old saying “any landing you can walk a way from is a good one,” certainly applies to Houlton’s Milton Bayliss after his small aircraft crashed at Houlton International Airport Thursday afternoon.
    Bayliss, 77, was flying in his 2003 Xair Experimental Aircraft, more commonly referred to as an “ultra-light” when he attempted to land his plane shortly after 2 p.m. A stiff crosswind compounded by low engine RPMs as the plane was coming in for a landing, caused his aircraft to flip over, according to Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin.
Bayliss, a longtime pilot and veteran, said this wasn’t the first time he has been in a plane crash, but it might be his last.
“I think this was a message that it is time for me to hang it up,” Bayliss said.
Bayliss said he was in the process of coming in for a landing when a freak gust of wind came up and pushed him away from the runway and toward a grassy area.
“I tried to make what is called a power recovery, but it was too late, because the plane was already stalled for a landing,” he said. “I did a couple of wing loops, which are basically cartwheels.”
Bayliss said once that happens it is nearly impossible to tell which end is up. The left wing of his plane struck the ground and sent the plane spinning before it came to a landing in the grass.
Bayliss was able to exit the cockpit and notify police of the crash. He told patrolman Theron Bickford that he was not injured.
A graduate of the Army’s military flight school in 1963, Bayliss has been flying since 1958 and has logged more than 3,000 hours in the air.
The Federal Aviation Association was contacted and they authorized law enforcement to clear the scene. Bayliss was given a ride by Officer Charles Wampler and advised police that he would follow-up with the FAA.
The plane was damaged beyond repair, Bayliss said. He was hopeful that the plane’s engine could be salvaged.