Brainerd Pilot Escapes Harrowing Experience

A 59-year-old Brainerd pilot had some anxious moments Thursday night. Rory Fredstrom says his Piper P-18 lost power just moments after taking off from the Brainerd Regional Airport just before 8 p.m. last night.

Fredstrom put down in a rice paddy on the Mississippi River near Greens Bar, off of Sorenson Lake Road in Center township.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's office says the pilot of the light plane was assisted to shore by several fishermen who were in the area at the time.

Fredstrom was uninjured.