QUINCY — A U.S. flag attached to the skids of a helicopter may have come loose and gotten caught in the craft’s tail rotor, prompting the pilot to make an unexpected landing in a Quincy area wheat field on the Fourth of July.

Robert Omlin, 61, of Quincy told Grant County sheriff’s deputies that he thinks the flag in the tail rotor caused the helicopter to lose power and shudder violently. Omlin said the incident happened as he and his wife were traveling about 65 mph at about 200 feet above the ground.

This morning, his wife, Gail, said she and her husband are not sure if the flag caused the problems with the helicopter. She said the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating. No one was injured.

Gail Omlin said they had attached the flag, which measured about 3 by 5 feet, to the helicopter and were planning to fly to a couple of friends’ houses.

The helicopter was a 2010 Exec162F, an experimental craft built by Omlin. It made a landing near the 8400 block of County Road P Northwest, just east of Quincy.

The sheriff’s office also said that the helicopter made a hard landing but, Gail Omlin said, “ it wasn’t that hard of a landing. My husband’s been a pilot for years and he did very well bringing it down.”

Dee Riggs: 664-7147

deeriggs@wenatcheeworld.com