Photo by James Short.
Police said local man fell after Weedhopper kit plane hit top of tree in farm field on Cowpath Road in Franconia Township Wednesday night. A similar incident occurred in June 2023
A local resident was hospitalized Wednesday evening after his small ultralight aircraft crashed into a tree along Cowpath Road in Franconia Township, police said Thursday morning via Facebook.
According to Franconia Township Police, officers were dispatched around 5:25 p.m. to a farm field in the 700 block of Cowpath Road, near Yoder’s Farm Market, for a reported small plane crash.
They arrived to find that the pilot had crashed his Weedhopper 277 Ultralight — a kit-built aircraft — into the top of a tree while operating it after dark.
(Credit: Franconia Township Police)Police said the impact caused the pilot to fall about 30 feet to the ground. He was conscious and alert when first responders arrived and was transported by ambulance to St. Luke’s Hospital/Grand View for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Responding agencies included Franconia Police, Telford Fire Company, Tylersport Fire Company, Perseverance Fire Company of Souderton, and VMSC Emergency Medical Services. The scene was cleared within an hour.
The Federal Aviation Administration was not immediately reported to be involved. The last aircraft incident in the area occurred in June 2023, when a small glider also struck a tree along Green Hill Road between Cowpath and Allentown roads.
