Sheriff: Plane Leaving Duluth Air Show Crashes, No Injuries

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities say there were no injuries after a plane leaving the Duluth Air Show on Saturday crashed just south of Braham.

The Isanti County Sheriff's Office responded at about 6:50 p.m. to a plane crash near 38045 Lever St. NE in Stanchfield Township. As several crews responded to the scene, they received information that a pilot and co-pilot were not injured and were out of the plane walking around.

When crews arrived, a retired yellow U.S. Navy 630 Bi-plane experienced engine failure while flying from Duluth to Anoka. The pilot, a 61-year-old Shorewood man, told authorities that he and his co-pilot from St. Francis were returning from the Duluth Air Show when the engine failed.

The pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in a soybean field, but had too much speed to land safely. The pilot was able to fly under power lines on Lever St., fly over the street and do a hard landing in an unplanted field. The landing gear crushed and the plane came to rest on its belly in the field.

The FAA is heading to the crash scene on Monday to investigate. The Isanti County Sheriff's Office was assisted at the scene by the Braham Police Department.