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Fri Nov 04, 2005, 04:20pm
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BLUE HILL -- An ultralight airplane crashed on the 5-yard line of a high school football playoff game Wednesday in Blue Hill.
The crash occurred at the Blue Hill football stadium about 10 minutes into the game against East Butler. According to the Webster County's sheriff's office, deputies were investigating the crash of the single-seat plane but would not give other details. The game at Blue Hill, about 20 miles south of Hastings, was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Larry Peirce said he saw the plane hover about 100 feet from the ground briefly before it tried to turn east. Then the plane plummeted to the field, said Peirce, general manager of the David City Banner Press and a former Lincoln Journal Star reporter. Micah Nielsen, a 19-year-old University of Nebraska-Lincoln freshman and an East Butler graduate, said he thought the plane was supposed to be there. "I thought it was a stunt pilot," Nielsen said. Nielsen said it sounded as though the engine of the plane stalled. The plane barely missed the high school, then fell into a parking lot, clipped a parked truck, rolled and came to a stop on the field, he said. The plane remained intact except for some broken glass, and officials cleaned up the site within 15 minutes, he said. A game official announced through the field's public address system that two people were taken to the hospital by ambulance, neither with serious injuries, Nielsen said. By 6 p.m., the game had resumed. Witnesses identified the pilot as Dan Van Boening of Blue Hill. He was taken to Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital for treatment but information on his condition wasn't available Wednesday night. Kathy Seeman of Blue Hill was standing behind a fence along the sideline of the football game talking to friends when she was struck by the ultralight plane. "I saw him flying, he flies around all the time, and he went into a big dive," she said. "I thought he was giving everyone a thrill. Before I knew it, the plane landed behind me. The tip of the wing hit my shoulder and pushed me into the wire by the fence. I kinda cut my lip and I have bruise on my lip." Seeman said there were a lot of people at the second-round playoff game but she didn't think anyone other than the pilot was injured in the accident. She was also taken to Mary Lanning to have her broken shoulder blade treated. "One of the nurses up there told me half the town must have followed me," she said. "But I think they were more interested in the game, which we won I guess." Seeman considers herself lucky not to have been hurt worse in the unusual accident, and was in good spirits when reached by phone at her home Wednesday evening. "I had no idea I was going to get hit by an airplane standing on the sideline watching a football game," she said with a laugh. 
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Fri Nov 04, 2005, 09:06pm
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I saw the amatuer video of this crash. It was a scary sight especially for a pilot like myself!
__________________
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." - John Wooden
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Fri Nov 04, 2005, 10:34pm
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Ms. Seeman's phone ringing off the hook with soliciations from attorneys.
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Mon Nov 07, 2005, 11:02am
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This happened about 70 miles from where I live. I've done a few games on this field. Go to this link and wait for the Top 5 Stories to rotate to this story. There should be a link to the video of the crash. He's been charged with being under the influence since the crash.
http://www.khastv.com If you go to News, then More Local Stories then to about page 3 you'll see the video of the event, actually more video than what's on the main story. [Edited by schwinn on Nov 7th, 2005 at 11:07 AM]
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