Sunday, August 9, 2020

UPDATED: Plane crashes in Town of Burlington, occupants suffer life threatening injuries

From The Journal Times.com:

Lauren Henning


Bill Campbell, who lives on Mormon Road on property that extends to Voree Court in the Town of Burlington, said the front end of the plane was damaged while the rest of the plane seemed undamaged. Campbell and Karen Tordera, his daughter, said police told them the passengers were "conscious and talking."

TOWN OF BURLINGTON — The Racine County Sheriff's Office confirmed their response to a single engine plane crash Sunday at 2:40 p.m. where the pilot and passenger were  found conscious upon arrival, but suffered life threatening injuries.

Both the pilot and passenger had to be extricated from the plane. Two Flight for Life helicopters responded and transported them to Froedert Hospital for treatment, according to the news release.

Eye witnesses said the plane appeared to have difficulty gaining altitude just after taking off, and after narrowly missing the treeline, crashed into the residential area, according to the release.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified and are handling the investigation, according to the news release.

Karen Tordera said she saw a low-flying plane as she swam in the pool at her father's house on Mormon Road. While she did not see the plane crash, she said, they heard a crash.

Tordera's father, Bill Campbell, drove along his property line up to Voree Court, south of Burlington Municipal Airport, after seeing police arrive on site, where he said he saw the plane upside down with the passengers moving inside.

"The plane is upside down and the front end where the engine is looks like it's broken off and laying on the ground," Campbell said, describing what he saw. "The airplane is mostly intact, only the fact it was upside down. We could see that there were people inside the airplane, and of course they were upside down, and their arms were moving."

Police officers asked Campbell where he had come from, and after he informed them it was his property, they asked for permission to land two Flight for Life helicopters, Campbell said. Once they had Campbell's permission, police asked him to leave the area so that the helicopters could land.

The crash is the second in the Burlington area this year, with flight instructor David Lee Schmutzler of Port Washington dying from injuries he suffered after crashing a plane he was flying just east of the Burlington airport on May 15.

Pilot who died in Burlington plane crash was flight instructor; no cause released yet

Racine County Sheriff's Department did not release further information regarding the pilot or passenger. The Journal Times will continue to report on this story as it develops.  

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/plane-crashes-in-town-of-burlington-eyewitnesses-say-occupants-conscious-talking/article_c7d272d8-15b4-5031-aac7-0f05bb2ee6da.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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