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Jim and Suzanne Thornhill were hoping to enjoy another of their frequent weekend breakfasts in Sanford, Maine, when they hopped in their single-engine plane at Mansfield Municipal Airport last Saturday and took to the clear New England skies.

"Jim did his normal pre-flight run-up, and we had a gorgeous flight," Suzanne recalled on Monday. "It was absolutely beautiful."

The pair of avid aviators from Franklin - who have been married for 41 years and flying together for half of them - were not far from their destination when they both noticed a strange smell.

Suddenly the cockpit instruments said the plane had no oil pressure. It then began to lose altitude, although the propeller continued to whirr.

Jim contacted air traffic control at nearby Pease International Tradeport, which located him on radar and cleared the Thornhills to make an emergency landing there. Too late.

"I'm not going to make the airport," Jim told the tower as the plane sped along at 120 knots, way more than the 80 or so usually traveled during a standard landing.

Then Jim spied the golf course at Portsmouth Country Club, and decided to make an emergency landing there - "between two huge sand traps," Suzanne explained, adding that, thankfully, there were no golfers in sight. "We never would have landed there if there were people around," she said.

The plane had a bumpy landing, but finally came to a stop next to the 18th fairway.

"I pushed my seat back, put on my seat belt, and just a little prayer and left it to Jim and God," Suzanne said.

Though slightly shaken, the couple was unhurt.

"And I'm not saying this because I'm his wife, but what he did was fantastic. I'm extremely proud of him," she said.

Stunned golfers, who were enjoying the break in the weather and the first day of the season at the country club, rushed over to the plane and were soon followed by local firefighters.

"Opening day was a bit more exciting than we expected it to be," assistant club manager Susan Antequera told the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Suzanne Thornhill, for her part, praised those who came to help them, particularly Antequera. They "were absolutely fabulous," she said. "We've heard horror stories (from other pilots) about golfers hitting the plane with golf balls ... These people were super."

The locals assisted the couple as they pushed the 3,100-pound plane out of the golfers' way and past the main green, where it remained Monday.

The Thornhills, however, said they are undeterred by their experience.

"He kept his cool, and I kept mine," Suzanne said. "Without a doubt we will fly again."