Highland Park plane crash victim hailed as hero

A Highland Park man is dead after crashing a small plane into an open field while trying to make an emergency landing in Racine, WI., authorities said.

Phillip Pines, 76, a retired executive of Great Dane Trailers, was flying in a single-engine, multipassenger aircraft to Waukegan Airport when he experienced fuel problems about 10 miles west of Milwaukee, authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Mount Pleasant Police Department said.

Pines attempted to land at a small airport in Racine, but crashed at 6:34 p.m. Monday in a field near Spring Street and Airline Road, officials said.

Mount Pleasant Police officials said Pines acted “in a heroic manner” during the crash, adding he avoided several populated subdivisions by choosing the field as an emergency landing spot.

The crash is under investigation by the FAA and the NTSB, police officials said.