KALAMA — The Cowlitz County sheriff says a pilot practicing touch and go landings on a Columbia River island beach wasn’t hurt when the small plane flipped over.

Fire and law enforcement agencies responded Friday afternoon to a report that a plane had hit the water, flipped over and was floating in the river.

Sheriff Mark Nelson says pilot Lon Habersetzer of Yacolt, Wash., had been practicing the landings on the south end of Cottonwood Island in a Piper Cub.

Nelson says his office gets similar calls a couple times each year. In his words, “This is a form of recreation for these pilots, but when one flips over, it certainly gets folks excited.”