Marijuana Plane Crashes In Detroit

A small plane carrying more than 300 pounds of marijuana crashed in Detroit Sunday evening, killing the pilot but injuring no one on the ground.

Detroit Fire Chief Lee Moore said three U.S. Customs planes had been chasing the plane since it left West Texas. Moore said he believed the pilot ran low on fuel before crashing into an empty baseball field at around 6:10 p.m.

The field is next to a junior high school on the west side of Detroit.

Moore said Customs officials began following the plane at Big Bend National Park as part of a routine surveillance operation. Customs officials often follow planes near the U.S. and Mexican border, Moore said.

Moore said he believed the pilot was heading to Canada in a homemade aircraft.

"I'm assuming in his desperation there was an attempt to stop in this field," Moore said.

The identity of the pilot has not yet been released.

Neighbor Gloria Johnson said she heard a booming sound, saw the plane hit a tree and then crash into the field. She said the pilot was still talking when neighbors ran to help.

"There were big bundles of drugs and money all around the plane," Johnson said. "The bundles of marijuana looked like two big suitcases."

Johnson said she saw people leave the scene with some of the packages.

"A couple of guys came to help, then grabbed the bags of drugs and left," Johnson said. Police would not confirm that.

The plane was upside down and missing its tail after it crashed. About 20 firefighters and police officers flipped it over and extracted the dead pilot.

No one else was believed to be aboard the plane, Moore said.

By Randi Goldberg.
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