OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe walked away from a forced landing at a small airport in Oklahoma amid high winds and severe weather, his spokeswoman said Monday.
The 81-year-old Republican, an avid pilot, brought his plane down in Ketchum, a small community in far northeastern Oklahoma, spokeswoman Donelle Harder said.
Inhofe and another pilot were flying in tandem in separate planes during a Sunday evening pleasure flight despite the severe thunderstorm watch that was in effect for much of Oklahoma.
“He experienced high winds at landing,” Harder told The Associated Press in an email. “Inhofe walked away and is now at home with his family celebrating” the July Fourth holiday, Harder said.
She declined to provide any more details, and the Federal Aviation Administration wouldn’t confirm that Inhofe is the pilot under investigation after veering off the runway at the small airport around 7 p.m. Sunday.