Pilot makes emergency landing in Cary

Sunday was not a typical day up in the wild blue yonder for Marc Kresmery of Elgin.

Kresmery, 51, flies airplanes as a hobby and on Sunday he decided he'd take his 1941 Ryan PT-22 out for a spin.

The single-propeller airplane that the military used to train pilots features two open cockpits, and with the thermometer in the 80s, it was a perfect day for a solo flight.

“I was just out for a joy ride, just like you would for a convertible, he said.

Kresmery took off from Poplar Grove for a half-hour flight to Lake in the Hills Airport.

But moments before reaching his destination, Kresmery noticed that the throttle linkage, which separates his foot from the engine, came loose while he was above Cary and that caused a reduction in the plane's power the engine was never an issue, he said.

Still, the malfunction required an emergency landing.

Kresmery said all was calm inside the cockpit because he has spent 29 years flying.

“It didn't take much to fix the problem, but the problem is you can't do it in the air, he said.

He made his final descent at around 2 p.m. into a harvested soybean field and at 2:04 p.m. firefighters were dispatched to Hoffman Park in Cary for a “reported airplane down, said Lt. Michael Douglass of the Cary Fire Protection District.

Authorities discovered the plane farther south in Hoffman Park in a field between Klasen Road and the Super Walmart, Douglass said.

The district leases that portion of the park to Kadlec Farms, said Dennis Krenz, safety and risk manager for the Cary Park District, which owns all 280 acres of the park.

A farmer harvesting soybeans came over some time later to see if Kresmery was OK, he said.

Kresmery said he's never encountered an issue with any airplane he's piloted, but in case of emergency, he always watches for potential landing spots.

“Whenever you fly, you always have an option you always keep an idea on ‘what if,' he said, adding that he said a prayer after the landing. “And that (field) was my ‘what if' at that time.

The landing, he said, was “beautiful, nice and smooth.

After radioing in for a wrench, Kresmery fixed the throttle and was once again airborne about an hour later with permission from the Federal Aviation Authority.

But this time, it was back to Poplar Grove.

“I figured it was time to go home, Kresmery said.