A pilot of a crop duster plane is lucky to be alive Saturday after making an emergency crash landing in Goshen.

Mervin Lewis, 67, from Greenville, was flying over the onion fields of Minkus Farms around 9 a.m. when he suddenly had engine trouble. Lewis tried to set the plane down on an access road, but unfortunately fell a little bit short of his target. Police say the plane flipped over and Lewis had to free himself from the cockpit, only a few inches off the ground.

Lewis walked away with only a small wound to his hand. Police say it was Lewis? quick thinking that prevented a far worse incident, including a potential explosion. They say as he landed, Lewis hit the cutoff valves to the fuel.Police say the plane will be taken to a garage where the FAA will inspect it and try and determine an official cause of the accident.