Teen pilot lands disabled plane on Kansas golf course

WICHITA, Kansas (WABC) -- Two teenagers on spring break are lucky to be alive after their plane's engine cut out and forced them to crash land on a golf course.

Now, they are speaking out about those terrifying moments.

"I didn't know what to do or what was going on," Nicole Klusener said. "The first thing I thought about were my parents."

Seventeen-year-old certified pilot Christian Dell and Klusener, his 18-year-old girlfriend, had saved up money to rent the small aircraft for a few days of fun in Nashville. And the one hour, 45 minute return trip was all smooth sailing until the last leg of the flight.

"It just started sputtering, and it ultimately failed," Dell said.

In an instant, Dell's emergency training kicked in. He narrowly dodged homes, trees and power lines before crash landing on the 14th hole of a golf course.

"I was just looking at him, trusting he knew what to do and praying to God that we were going to be OK," Klusener said. "He just did his job, and that's how we're alive right now."

Police praised Dell's quick thinking and action.

"From what I was told, the pilot did an excellent job," Wichita police Lieutenant Paul Duff said.

Residents who witnessed the rough landing rushed to help. Both teens were taken to the hospital suffering concussions and head injuries.

"I kept telling him 'You're OK, you didn't hurt anybody else,'" witness Nikki Womack said. "I mean, he landed right there in the middle where no one around."

The FAA is investigating what went wrong.

"I'm just fortunate nobody else got hurt," Dell said.