SCHOOLCRAFT COUNTY (WWJ) — One man walked away unharmed after his plane suffered a power failure, forcing him to crash land on top of a frozen lake in the Upper Peninsula Thursday afternoon.
Authorities were notified that a plane had been spotted flying around Indian Lake northwest of Manistique with apparent engine problems a little before 3:30 p.m.
According to officers, the pilot—62-year-old Mark Meyer from Escanaba—had been flying his single-engine plane for two hours while practicing air maneuvers above the lake.
During one of the turns, the plane's engine stopped and Meyer was unable to restart it.
The pilot was forced to make an immediate, emergency landing on the surface of the frozen lake. The aircraft's landing gear broke off once it made contact with the snow, and officials said Meyer's plane skidded across the ice, causing damage to the main body of the plane.
Meyer was met by Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Rob Freeborn, who drove out onto the lake in a snowmobile.
“I could see the plane sitting on the ice, about a half-mile, to three-quarters of a mile from the shoreline,” Freeborn said in a press release.
Additional officers from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Michigan State Police troopers assisted the DNR.
Meyer was the sole occupant of the plane and was uninjured.
“We’re all grateful that Mr. Meyer’s skills allowed him to safely land the aircraft he was piloting on the frozen lake without injuring himself or anyone else, this is the best outcome we could ask for in an emergency situation like this,” said Asst. Chief Dave Shaw of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
The aircraft was later safely removed from the lake by an off-road-vehicle.
Related
Related
