News

Actions

Retired pastor gives up piloting after third mishap

Posted at 10:29 AM, Feb 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-22 10:29:56-05

HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) — A retired pastor from Holland has told his wife that he is giving up piloting after surviving his third plane crash.

According to a report recently released from the National Transportation Safety Board, 67-year-old Steven Stam’s single-engine plane ended up crashing on Sept. 11, 2015, on Interstate 80 near Laramie, Wyoming. Stam stopped just short of colliding with a canyon wall.

Stam has survived two crashes prior to this incident. In 2009, he crashed at Park Township Airport. And in July 2015, Stam landed his plane on a Lake Michigan beach in Ottawa County Township.

The pilot of 22 years told The Detroit News Friday that he broke his back in the latest crash and informed his wife that he’d be giving up flying.