AMARGOSA VALLEY -- It wasn't the Hudson River, and there were only four people aboard, but all escaped without injury when a single-engine Cessna stalled and crashed here early Friday afternoon, Feb. 27.

The crash occurred just off an unimproved airstrip near the intersection of Highway 373 and Mecca Road, reported Sheriff's Lt. Frank Jarvis.

The small plane was attempting a takeoff and made it into the air, but then, said the lieutenant, it "settled down, drifting left."

The plane touched down for a moment and then rose again. But at that point the engine stalled and the craft landed east of the runway.

The right wing was snapped, two of the wheels separated from the fuselage and wing, and the propellar was bent up.

The pilot, Brian Staley, of Kennewick, Wash., and his three passengers all debarked safely, Jarvis said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was notified of the wreck.