A Michigan pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on a frozen lake after his plane lost power in midair, officials said.
Mark Meyer, 62, of Escanaba, took off from the Manistique Airport in a single-engine plane around 1:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 24).
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Officials said Meyer had been in the air for about two hours when he lost power while practicing air maneuvers over Indian Lake, which is about eight miles west of the airport.
At 3:24 p.m., dispatchers told emergency responders that the plane circling Indian Lake was having engine troubles. Meyer couldn’t restart the engine, so he made an emergency landing on the lake at 3:32 p.m., according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
DNR Conservation Officer Rob Freeborn arrived on a snowmobile within three minutes.
“I could see the plane sitting on the ice, about a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile from the shoreline,” Freeborn said.
He found Meyer uninjured, according to officials. Nobody else was inside the plane.
Landing in the snow broke the plane’s landing gear, so it slid on the ice and damaged the main body, the DNR reports.
“We’re all grateful that Mr. Meyer’s skills allowed him to safely land the aircraft he was piloting on the frozen lake without injuring himself or anyone else,” said Dave Shaw, assistant chief of the DNR Law Enforcement Division. “This is the best outcome we could ask for in an emergency situation like this.”
Meyer’s flight instructor used a side-by-side off-road vehicle to safely remove the plane from the ice.
“Our officers communicated with the Federal Aviation Administration,” Shaw said. “The aircraft was safely removed from the frozen lake without harming any resources.”