A pilot escaped safely from a private plane after it came into Piedmont Triad International Airport early Tuesday morning with its landing gear only halfway down. The pilot, whose name was not available Tuesday, was not injured. He was the only passenger in the turbo-prop plane, owned by Winston Cup driver Darrell Waltrip. The pilot was returning the plane from a paint shop in South Carolina. The pilot is not DW’s pilot, he was returning the plane. When they got the news about the plane on Tuesday, Waltrip and his family were just glad no one had been injured. Also, the family had more sobering concerns this week, he said. They were planning funeral arrangements for Waltrip’s 76-year-old father, Leroy Waltrip, who died Monday(News and Record)(1-12-2000)
