High wind flips plane

A fast-moving storm on Wednesday flipped over a small airplane at the Siloam Springs Municipal Airport and left about 400 utility customers without electricity for a few hours.

The storm caused multiple power outages and uprooted trees throughout Benton County. The damage was caused by straight-line winds, according to Peter Snyder, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tulsa.

The Siloam Springs Fire Department responded to one medical call just outside the city limits for minor injuries related to the storm, according Holland Hayden, city communications director. Information about the cause of the injuries was not available, she said.

Approximately 400 electric customers in Siloam Springs lost power because of the storm, Hayden said. Most customers had their service restored by 5:15 p.m. Wednesday. There were about five customers whose private equipment was damaged and required repair by electricians. By Thursday afternoon almost all the remaining customers had power, Hayden said.

The storm left many residents with limbs and branches littering their yards. They will be able to put limbs out with their other yard waste on their regular yard waste pick-up day, Hayden said.

Snyder estimated wind speeds were between 60 and 70 miles per hour in Siloam Springs. At Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport -- the closest location to Siloam Springs Synder could find data -- wind speeds were recorded at 63 miles per hour.

Equipment at Siloam Springs Regional Airport measured the wind speed at 61 miles per hour when the small airplane was flipped over, according to Wolf Grulkey, owner of Skydive Skyranch. The wind speed measurement was taken at the opposite end of the runway from where the plane was overturned.

The Cessna 182 was one of four planes Grulkey owns and uses in his skydiving business. It was a total loss, he said.

The plane, which weighs about 1,800 pounds, was tied down in five places. Grulkey said the tie down straps held through the storm. It was actually a large eye bolt -- bolted to the frame on the tail of the airplane -- that failed. Once the tail of the plane was loose, the force of the wind caused it to cartwheel over onto it's back, Grulkey said.

Grulkey estimated it would take wind speeds of around 80 miles per hour to flip the airplane. He explained that the airplane hangers could have created a Venturi effect -- funneling winds between them -- that could have increased wind speeds another 15 to 20 miles per hour.

Snyder also estimated it would take wind speeds of around 80 miles per hour to flip over a small plane. With consistent wind speeds over 60 miles per hour, gusts up to 70 or 80 miles per hour were not out of the realm of possibility, he said. Wind speeds of 78 miles per hour were measured in Fort Smith, he said.