'There wasn't a lot of time to think,' pilot who hit deer says
John Olson was inches away from touching down at a Lake County airport when a deer lost its footing and tumbled on the runway in front of him.
For a second, Olson, 52, thought he could time it just right, pass over the deer and make a safe landing. But he decided that was too risky and pulled the twin-engine plane toward the sky.
That's when he heard a thud. The bottom of the plane hit the deer.
"I knew I hit it for sure," said Olson, a pilot with 15 years of experience.
Back in the air, Olson left the Campbell Airport in unincorporated Lake County and headed toward the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling because it had a control tower to help him land. There was no one at Campbell Airport. Olson didn't know the crash with the deer damaged the left side of his landing gear.
"At that point, I just had to find the best way to safely land the plane," he said. "There wasn't a lot of time to think."
Blake Caravello, 8, was with his grandfather in the front of the plane. Son-in-law Jim Caravello, 30, was in the middle row next to his daughter Kayleigh, 6. Deborah Olson was in the rear with her daughter Christina Caravello, 32. John and Deborah Olson live near Mundelein but spent the weekend in Michigan visiting Olson's family. The group took off from the Freemont, Mich. airport and arrived in Lake County about 6:30 p.m.
The plane has three landing gear - under the nose and one under each wing. Once Olson arrived at the Wheeling airport, the control tower checked his landing gear using binoculars and discovered his left landing gear had not deployed. The fire department was called and a few minutes later, two crash trucks, a fire engine and two ambulances with about 13 firefighters set up near the runway.
Just in case.
Olson made a "soft landing" that damaged the plane's left wing. No one inside the plane was hurt.
"I tried not to over analyze the landing," he said. "I just tried to set us up for as nice a landing as possible. Fortunately, the weather was on our side."
Deborah Olson made sure everyone's seat belt was tight before landing and that all were wearing shoulder harnesses.
"I didn't know what kind of landing we'd have, so I just told everyone to hang on and sit back in their seats," she said. "You've got to let the pilot do his job, right?"
Despite the overall calm, Deborah Olson said there were some nervous moments before the landing at Chicago Executive.
"Everything flashes in front of you," she said. "We all held hands in the back. And I started praying. You always do that - at least I do. I always just put everything in God's hands and it's like, 'Give John everything he needs to get this plane down because he's got his hands full right now.'"
The deer was euthanized after it was found near Campbell Airport with a broken leg.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, an agency spokeswoman.
Dennis Rouleau, manager of the Wheeling airport, said Olson's cool temperament kept his family safe.
"This pilot is a hero to his family," Rouleau said. "He kept his cool and made a good decision."
Deborah Olson said her husband's actions were what she would expect of him in a clutch situation. They have been married nearly 33 years.
"That's the way he is," Deborah Olson said. "He's always been my rock. He's just great at what he does and he has a passion for flying."
John Olson volunteers for Wings of Mercy, which provides free air transportation to those with limited financial means who need medical treatment at distant facilities. He also is associated with a similar volunteer organization called Angel Flight.
Monday, Olson was back at work at the family business, Olson Machining in Spring Grove, and shrugged off his heroic landing and his wife's nickname of "Sully" after the famous pilot who landed a commercial jet in the Hudson River.
He plans to return to the sky as soon as possible with his family. No one is more excited than his grandson Blake.
"The kids were outstanding," Olson said. "My grandson was actually taking notes the whole time."
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<li><a href="/story/?id=364481">Deer a part of life at Campbell Airport <span class="date">[03/08/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=364264">Plane likely hits deer, makes emergency landing <span class="date">[03/07/10]</span></a></li>
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