Tucumcari plane crash turns to drug bust

New Mexico State Police are investigating a Monday night "controlled crash" of a plane filled with more than 400 pounds of marijuana. NMSP Lt. Cleo Baker said the plane landed in a field south of Tucumcari. The pilot, identified as a 34-year-old man from Louisville, Ky., was traveling to an unknown location when he landed the fixed wing plane on ranch land a half mile off of State Road 209 in Quay County, according to an NMSP press release. Baker said no arrests have been made. The land 14 miles south of Tucumcari where the crash occurred belongs to rancher Gerald Hight, said Quay County Sheriff Joe Schallert. “Gerald told me he heard, then saw, a plane flying low over his home with their landing gear down and no lights on,” Schallert said. Schallert said the plane continued eastbound from Hight’s house toward state Highway 209. He said the plane then turned around and crashed in a field 500 yards from Hight’s home...more