Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing At Golf Course: Lee County Sheriff

NORTH FORT MYERS, FL — A small plane was forced to make an emergency landing Thursday morning at Del Tura Golf & Country Club in North Ft. Myers, Lee County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.

Deputies who responded to the scene found that the pilot, who was the only person onboard, was uninjured in the incident.

“The plane was moved off the course (and) no golfers were forced to take a mulligan,” the sheriff’s office said.

The pilot, Peter Stern, told NBC 2 that he was flying in from Venice, heading to an airfield in North Fort Myers, not far from the golf course, when his engine gave out.

“Sure enough, he came down and landed it on the fairway, rolled up onto the green and came to a stop,” Chris Bunker, a resident of the golfing community told NBC. “I went up, said, ‘You okay?’ And he (Stern) said, ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I had engine problems, and I knew I couldn’t make it to the airport across the street.”

The aircraft, a single-engine Piper PA-28R, landed just before noon, WINK News reported.

“It’s excitement. You know, in geezerville you got to have something happen every once in a while, and you know, there’s pickleball, and there’s all kinds of events, but to have a plane land on the green, you know, not too often,” David Keller, another resident of the community, told WINK.