Pilot rescued after plane tangles in wires: dangled from wire for hours

Published: November 13, 2005 | 2703rd good news item since 2003

A pilot whose small plane became tangled in utility wires as he tried to land in a thunderstorm Saturday evening was pulled to safety after dangling from the lines for about two hours.

The plane was hanging nose down, about 10 feet off the ground when police were called to the scene shortly after 6 p.m., said Milwaukee Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

The pilot, identified as a 37-year-old man from Elkhorn, was alone in the plane and conscious.

“We were in contact with him the whole time,” firefighter Steve Scherer said. “He’s doing fine.”

The pilot, who was hospitalized Saturday night, was trying to land at Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport. He had called off his approach several times before the plane got caught in the utility lines, Schwartz said.

The crash knocked out power to 3,600 customers, and power was cut to 4,100 more for safety, said We Energies spokeswoman Beth Martin. Most of the power was restored by 10 p.m., she said.

Authorities brought in a crane to lift the plane out of the wires.

Published in Rescues
See also: seattlepi.nwsource.com