updated 12AM below
Shortly before 3PM this afternoon, a plane that had just taken off from the Chicago Executive Airport (Palwaukee) reported engine problems and initiated a turn which would allow them to return to the airport. The plane lost altitude and clipped a building at 760 S. Wolf Road before crashing into the rear parking lot and hitting two cars. There were two souls on-board the plane. One of the occupants died in the crash and the other, who survived, was found on the ground roughly 30 feet from the plane by the first arriving emergency personnel. He was apparently suffering from burns and multiple fractures. The survivor was packaged quickly and transferred to a Flight-For-Life medical transport helicopter and flown to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. A comprehensive article about the incident can be found HERE. Both the Wheeling Fire Department and Prospect Heights Fire Department provide protection for the airport and as such the two departments are jointly dispatched to airport related incidents. Wheeling Engine 23 was the first fire suppression unit on the scene. Firefighters used hand lines off Engine 23 plus foam from Prospect Heights Crash Truck 39.
Larry Shapiro was at the scene and has a gallery with 100 images HERE.
The plane hit one car on impact and the resulting fire damaged several others. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters advance a foam line on the crash after the bulk of fire was knocked down by the ARFF. Larry Shapiro photo
The small plane hit several cars in the parking lot in an industrial park just northwest of the Chicago Executive Airport. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters douse the smoldering wreckage of a single engine plane that crashed in Wheeling, IL. Larry Shapiro photo
Wheeling Engine 23 and Prospect Heights Crash Truck 39 handled the suppression of the fire. Larry Shapiro photo
Paramedics transfer care of the patient to the Flight For Life helicopter crew to transport the patient to a trauma center. Larry Shapiro photo
The patient is loaded into the helicopter for the trip to the trauma center. Larry Shapiro photo
Part of the debris field is visible along the path the plane took just prior to impact. Larry Shapiro photo
One individual perished in the crash and another survived. Larry Shapiro photo
update 12AM a short cell phone video prior to the fire department arrival can be seen HERE
