FERRIDAY — The 55-year-old Ferriday resident involved in an ultralight aircraft crash into Old River Thursday evening is in stable condition at University Medical Center in Jackson.

Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell said Edwin Rowan suffered many injuries from the crash, including a broken collarbone, a punctured lung, a busted spleen and blood around his heart, and that Rowan underwent surgery Friday morning to repair the damage.

According to reports from UMC, Rowan is currently recovering from the surgery and is in stable condition.

Maxwell said Edwin Rowan, who is a photographer, was flying over the parish taking pictures of the high water levels when something went wrong.

“Other than the eyewitness accounts of the incident, we are going to have to wait until (Rowan) recovers to know what really happened,” he said. “From all the statements we have, it appears that the aircraft malfunctioned. Something had to have happened to send it spiraling out of control.”

Jennifer Maxwell and her husband, Jason, were riding around the area of the crash taking pictures of alligators when they saw Rowan flying low and then flying in the opposite direction.

“We could see him make two big loops, and then (the aircraft) seemed to become more stable and smooth,” Jennifer said. “But then he spiraled into the water.”

After Rowan’s plane struck the water, Jennifer and Jason, along with other eye-witnesses in the area, pulled Rowan from the water and performed CPR on the pilot until his breathing returned and ambulances arrived.

Maxwell said no one from the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash, because it involved an ultralight aircraft.

“They told us they only investigate ultralight crashes if there is a fatality involved,” he said.

Ultralight airplanes are light-weight, one- or two-person aircraft that are generally not required to meet as many safety regulations as other aircraft.

Ultralight aircraft can include powered parachutes, powered gliders and fixed-wing planes.

Details of what type of ultralight aircraft Rowan was flying are still unavailable, but Concordia Parish Airport Authority Chairman Carl Sayers said Rowan did rent a hangar at the airport for his aircraft.

Natchez-Adams Airport Manager Clint Pomeroy said that normally after an accident FAA or NTSB representatives investigate the plane to look for the cause of the crash.

“They do this so they can either report to the plane manufacturer something that was wrong with the plane that caused the crash, or work on training pilots more in certain problematic areas if the crash resulted from faulty procedures,” he said. “They investigate to find ways to make (flying) safer.”

Pomeroy said any number of reasons could have caused Rowan to lose control of his place and crash into the river.

“(Ultralight aircrafts) are much simpler to fly, but they can be tricky,” he said. “But what exactly happened? I wouldn’t have a guess.”

Area pilot and Rowan’s friend Jerry Stallings said the ultralight aircrafts can be very dangerous due to their design.

“The most dangerous thing about them is that the pilot is sitting right out in front of the plane,” he said. “The pilot is the first thing to hit the ground, and these planes are so small.”

Rowan’s plane, which sank Thursday night, is still in the water at Old River, and the sheriff said he does not know when any attempts at retrieving the plane will begin.

“Right now the water is too high to worry about getting it out,” he said. “We are just going to have to wait and see when it will happen.”