Three Hurt When Small Plane Crashes In Nowata County

Three people have been taken to a Coffeyville hospital after a small plane went down in Nowata County.

The single-engine plane crashed at 1:29 p.m. near the county roads EW 5 and NS 406, near the town of Wann, according to the Nowata County Sheriff's Office.

That is in the northwest corner of the county, not far from the Kansas state line.

An official with the Wann Fire Department said the victims were able to talk after the crash. One was complaining of internal pain and two others had external injuries.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the pilot, Paul Woolard, 50, of Alabama, attempted an emergency landing and struck several trees, coming to rest in the woods. He was admitted to a hospital in critical condition.

His passengers, 54-year-old Randy Watson and 25-year-old Ryan Bozeman, both of Alabama, also were admitted to hospitals. Watson was taken in critical condition and Bozeman is said to be stable.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane is a single-engine propeller-driven Beechcraft BE-36.

According to the FAA, the plane is owned by a corporation based in Montgomery, Alabama.

The flight tracking web site FlightAware.com shows it had left Washington County Memorial Airport in Washington, Kansas just after noon on its way to Shawnee, Oklahoma. The flight was diverted to Claremore, then crashed.