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Ex-Wal-Mart CEO Lands Troubled Plane On Arkansas Highway

Fayetteville plane crash bill simon
Courtesy Kelley King
/
KATV, Channel 7 News

A small plane that made an emergency landing along an Arkansas highway was piloted by the former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Bill Simon told The Associated Press that he unfurled a parachute that brought the plane down on Arkansas 16 outside Fayetteville High School in northwest Arkansas. Simon says he suffered a burn as his air bag deployed.

Police say all three men aboard the plane were taken to a hospital, as was a woman whose truck was hit by the falling plane. Police say only minor injuries were reported.

Simon was flying to Waco, Texas, where he teaches at Baylor University. He says he decided to land the plane after its oil system failed, and relied on his training to bring the plane down relatively safely.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
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