2 rescued after plane lodges in S. Ind. tree

October 12, 2013 (FRENCH LICK, Ind.) -- Authorities say two southern Indiana men whose ultralight plane crashed into a treetop and became lodged in limbs 60 feet above the ground spent four hours trapped in the crippled aircraft before rescuers lowered them to safety.

Indiana Conservation Officers Jim Hash says neither 65-year-old pilot James Cutler of Winslow nor 59-year-old passenger Richard Yahraus of Corydon were injured in Friday evening's crash near the French Lick Airport some 50 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky.

A bucket truck with a 60-foot boom was brought to the scene and rescuers first secured the plane to the tree. Both men were then attached to harnesses and ropes, moved to the bucket and lowered to the ground.

Hash says they "were both thankful to have their feet on the ground" after their ordeal.

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