Plane causes stir after landing on river sandbar

CLAYSVILLE, Mo. -- A private plane caused a stir when it landed on a sandbar in the Missouri River.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a 911 caller reported the small airplane had "landed under duress" on the Claysville island sandbar off the south Boone County river bank. But it turns out that the airplane's pilot and three passengers were having a New Year's Day party on the sandbar.

The Columbia-Tribune reported that the highway patrol and state water patrol, the Boone and Cole county sheriff's departments as well as the Southern Boone Fire Protection District were all dispatched to the site.

A highway patrol spokeswoman told the Columbia newspaper that she didn't know where the pilot and passengers were from.