Small plane crashes in Burbank

A single engine plane crashed into a retention pond in Burbank Saturday. None of the four occupants was injured, according to the FAA. (William DeShazer/ Chicago Tribune)

Erin Meyer and Deanese Williams-Harris Tribune reporters

7:40 p.m. CDT, June 18, 2011

A single-engine plane crashed early this evening in southwest suburban Burbank and no injuries were reported, officials said.

The crash happened near 77th Street and Narragansett Avenue in a field, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro.

The Cessna 172N flipped over but none of the four occupants was injured, he said.

A witness on the scene, Jason Neal, said the plane landed in a retention pond.

Nancy McKinley, 37, was cheering on her son's baseball team at Burbank National Baseball Park when she saw the small plane going down.

"It was going lower and lower, and then you didn't see it any more until the tail flipped up," she said.

McKinley's husband, a disabled Burbank firefighter, also at the game, started running toward a retention pond west of the park where the plane crashed.

"Russ was on top of it," said a friend, Raquel Ledesma, 41, whose son was on third base at the time.

Wayne Hanson, assistant chief of the Bedford Park Fire Department spoke at the scene.

Two minors and one adult were transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. "They were all in good condition," Hanson said. "The minors were shaken up a little more than the adults were."

The pilot refused transportation. He said the pilot may have initially judged the park to be a good place for an emergency landing. But when he got close enough to see all the people, he aimed for the retention pond to the west.

"I think the guy did a very good job landing the plane," said Hanson. Giving no indication of what forced the plane to make an emergency landing, Hanson said the state police and the FAA will investigate.

The plane is registered to WOMA LLC. Aviation Professionals Inc. was connected to the same address as WOMA LLC, but when contacted a person on the phone said they had no details about the crash.


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