Small plane makes emergency landing in Calumet County field

CALUMET COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - A pilot on his way to Illinois had to bring his plane down in a snow-covered field in Calumet County Monday.

The Beechcraft Bonanza took off from Appleton International Airport around noon. Ten minutes later, the pilot told air traffic controllers his engine stopped working. Air traffic control at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport lost contact with the pilot and lost the plane somewhere south of High Cliff.

The airport notified the Calumet County Sheriff’s Office at 12:10 p.m. Deputies, the Stockbridge Fire Department, Stockbridge First Responders, and Gold Cross Ambulance began a search for the plane.

Six minutes later, they were notified the plane was in a snow-covered, plowed field on private property.

The pilot, a 63-year-old man from Downers Grove, Illinois, wasn’t hurt. He was the only person on the plane.

The FAA is investigating, which is routine.