Cargo plane sets down in Alabama pasture: cows, pilot unharmed

WALKER SPRINGS, Ala. - A Clarke County cow pasture became an impromptu runway when a cargo plane had engine trouble and aimed for the only clear patch of land below. <br> <br> The pilot of the plane, owned by Bessemer-based Air Carriers Inc., reported engine trouble around 8:30 a.m. Monday, company owner Tommy Morrow said. <br> <br> The pilot, whose name has not been released, touched down just inside the barbed wire fence of the grassy pasture, rolled about 200 yards and halted just short of a line of trees. <br> <br> But according to farm owner Annie Mae White, the cows didn&#39;t seem to mind, and all bovines were present and accounted for. <br> <br> &#34;They were standing around, eating and looking at everybody and doing their thing,&#34; said Nancy Vrocher, White&#39;s daughter. <br> <br> Throughout the day, the plane became a minor tourist attraction for motorists on rural County Road 19, who enjoyed the spectacle of an aircraft surrounded by cow patties. <br> <br> Morrow said the company has yet to figure out how it will remove the plane, which must wait to be inspected by mechanics and Federal Aviation Administration officials. <br> <br> &#34;It&#39;s an exciting day for everybody but us,&#34; Morrow said. <br> <br>