Mount Carroll, IL – Two people survived a small plane crash Sunday morning after their aircraft went down in a cornfield south of Mount Carroll, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said the crash occurred around 10:45 a.m. near Apple Hill Road when the plane caught fire after impact. Emergency crews from multiple agencies rushed to the scene to contain the blaze.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, both occupants managed to escape the plane before it became fully engulfed in flames. The pilot suffered minor injuries and declined hospital transport, while the passenger was airlifted to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford with non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators say the plane was attempting to land at a private airstrip near Apple Hill Road when wind gusts caused the pilot to lose control, sending the aircraft into a nearby cornfield.
Fire departments from Mount Carroll, Lanark, Chadwick, Milledgeville, and Savanna assisted at the scene, along with local police, AirCare Helicopter, and federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Authorities said no additional information will be released until family members are notified.
