A helicopter ambulance took the pilot, Donald Willis, 75, of Harrison, to a hospital in Springfield.  The passengers,  Linda Mackey, 23, of Monett, Mo., and Lori Branham, 28, of Springfield, were taken to the hospital in Mountain Home. The Baxter County sheriff's office describes their injuries as moderate to serious. 

  The crash was about a half-mile east of the east end of the 3,200-foot grass runway.  The Piper Cherokee 140 crashed into a tree, ripping off one wing, which remained in the tree while the rest of the plane fell to the ground.  All three people were able to climb out of the wreckage.

  Mackey told sheriff's deputies that  she and Branham drove to the Boone County Airport in Harrison and met Willis.  From there, they flew to Gaston's for lunch.  As they tried to take off, Mackey told the deputies, Willis was battling strong winds and lost control of the aircraft.  The Federal Aviation Administration will send an investigator to the scene. 

  Gaston’s is a well-known resort inside a horseshoe bend on the White River just below Bull Shoals Dam, a mile south of Lakeview.  People often fly there just to have a meal at the resort or for a few hours of trout fishing.  The airstrip is next to the river, and planes that take off follow the water for a ways before climbing over bluffs to leave the river valley.