The pilot of a small, experimental plane was injured Sunday afternoon when the plane he landed in a marshy area on the lakefront on the South Side flipped over as its nose stuck into the mud.
The unexpected landing about 1:30 p.m. at 93rd Street and the lakefront, according to Fire Media Affairs Chief Joe Roccasalva.
The plane was headed from Oshkosh, Wisconsin to Benton Harbor, Michigan, when the pilot attempted to land in the marshy area, Roccasalva said.
Roccasalva described the spot where the plane landed as a “dried-up marshy area.”
As the plane landed its “front nose dug into the dirt, and it flipped,” Roccasalva said. The plane was upside down, an FAA spokesman said.
The pilot was taken in fair to serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Roccasalva said. He suffered “minor injuries,” according to the FAA spokesman. No one else was onboard the plane at the time.
The fixed wing, single-engine plane, considered an “experimental” aircraft, was manufactured in 2002, according to the FAA. It is registered to William Yamokoski, of St. Joseph, Michigan, according to FAA records.
Local
Following the emergency landing of a small experiemntal plane near Peru, Illinois last weekend, an FAA official noted that “this time of year you’re going to see” more experimental aircraft across northern Illinois, because of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-In Convention, held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin July 23-29.
