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Teenage Pilot Makes Emergency Landing On Golf Course

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ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami/AP) — A scary situation thankfully had a happy ending on Sunday.

A teenage pilot flying a small vintage plane has made an emergency landing on a golf course at the St. Petersburg Country Club.

St. Petersburg police spokesman Rob Shaw tells news outlets that neither the unidentified 18-year-old pilot nor a 17-year-old passenger was hurt in the Saturday afternoon incident, despite one of the plane's wings being damaged after clipping a tree while the plane was stopping.

Shaw says the 1939 Taylorcraft, one of three planes flying from Lakeland to Manatee County, was experiencing mechanical problems.

Police say the pilot was initially going to attempt to land at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, but realized he was not going to make it there.

Instead, he landed on the biggest open space he could find — the golf course's 12th fairway.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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