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Pilot Missing in Lake Michigan After Crash
July 30th, 2006 @ 9:38pm
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - A small airplane crashed Sunday evening into Lake Michigan, where rescuers pulled its sole passenger from the water and searched until dark for the missing pilot, authorities said.
The single-engine plane belly flopped onto the water more than three miles east of shore without breaking up. The two men aboard then climbed atop the plane until it sank beneath the waves several minutes later, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
When the men slipped into the water, the pilot "wasn't doing well" and went missing as the passenger tried to find something to keep them afloat, Langford said, citing the rescued man's statements to authorities.
The plane apparently had problems with its engine shortly before it went down.
"According to the survivor, the engine quit and the pilot did a great job of landing on the water," he said.
The survivor was in good condition, walking to a waiting ambulance after being brought ashore, said Langford, adding that the search for the pilot was scheduled to resume Monday.
Langford declined to release the identities of the pilot and passenger.
The plane, an American Legend Cub, took off from Oshkosh, Wis., headed for Ohio; the plane had also planned to land in Gary, Ind. to refuel, Langford said.
Elizabeth Isham Cory of the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier Sunday that the Gary/Chicago International Airport received a distress call from a plane that reported its location as 11 miles northwest of Gary.
A large fly-in and airplane convention took place this weekend in Oshkosh. Billed as the world's largest gathering of recreational aviators, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh attracts more than 10,000 airplanes and nearly 250,000 aviation enthusiasts from around the world.
Prayers to the family
Dano
July 30th, 2006 @ 9:38pm
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - A small airplane crashed Sunday evening into Lake Michigan, where rescuers pulled its sole passenger from the water and searched until dark for the missing pilot, authorities said.
The single-engine plane belly flopped onto the water more than three miles east of shore without breaking up. The two men aboard then climbed atop the plane until it sank beneath the waves several minutes later, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
When the men slipped into the water, the pilot "wasn't doing well" and went missing as the passenger tried to find something to keep them afloat, Langford said, citing the rescued man's statements to authorities.
The plane apparently had problems with its engine shortly before it went down.
"According to the survivor, the engine quit and the pilot did a great job of landing on the water," he said.
The survivor was in good condition, walking to a waiting ambulance after being brought ashore, said Langford, adding that the search for the pilot was scheduled to resume Monday.
Langford declined to release the identities of the pilot and passenger.
The plane, an American Legend Cub, took off from Oshkosh, Wis., headed for Ohio; the plane had also planned to land in Gary, Ind. to refuel, Langford said.
Elizabeth Isham Cory of the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier Sunday that the Gary/Chicago International Airport received a distress call from a plane that reported its location as 11 miles northwest of Gary.
A large fly-in and airplane convention took place this weekend in Oshkosh. Billed as the world's largest gathering of recreational aviators, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh attracts more than 10,000 airplanes and nearly 250,000 aviation enthusiasts from around the world.
Prayers to the family
Dano