
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 1, 1995                   TAG: 9508010065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FAA PROBES PLANE'S LANDING IN ALFALFA FIELD

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun an investigation of the emergency landing of a plane in a Botetourt County alfalfa field Sunday evening, state police said.

Pilot Michael Gvili, 47, of Wayland, Mass., and Stanisslav Mezhebovsky, of Sudbury, Mass., were flying a rented plane from Boston to Roanoke when they ran out of fuel over the Nace area, said state Trooper Steve Oliver. The two were on their way to Roanoke Regional Airport on a combination business/pleasure trip.

"That's where they were trying to land," Oliver said.

But just before 7 p.m. the plane's only engine stopped. Oliver said Gvili had to navigate the gliding two-seater under a some power lines before plowing through a fence in the 13-acre alfalfa field. Gvili, an engineer, apparently miscalculated his fuel consumption, he said.

No one was injured. The plane sustained a banged-up wing and bent propeller, Oliver said.

by CNB