Pilot 'lucky to be alive' after crash at Aurora airport

The pilot who on Saturday escaped a plane crash at Chicago Aurora Municipal Airport is lucky to be alive, authorities said today.

The unidentified pilot walked away from Saturday's fiery collision seemingly no worse for wear. His hair was burned by a fire in the back of the two-seater high performance experimental aircraft; he was treated at the scene and released.

"He was a pretty fortunate individual," said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Adler of the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District.

Trouble began shortly after the plane became airborne between noon and 12:30 p.m., Adler said. As smoke entered the cockpit, the pilot, who was flying solo, contacted air traffic control tower employees, who authorized an emergency landing on any runway, Adler said.

As the plane made its final descent, control tower employees saw that the rear half of the airplane, where the engine and propellers are located on this particular hybrid model, was on fire, Adler said. The pilot landed the smoldering aircraft at 100 mph between the eastern runway and nearby grass. The impact forced the wheels to collapse, with the plane sliding 1,000 feet across the runway on its belly, Adler said.

The pilot jumped out of the airplane as it slowed down, Adler said.

"That's literally when the flames were licking the back of his head," Adler said.

It took less than 5 minutes for Sugar Grove firefighters, with help from Big Rock and Maple Park, to extinguish the flames, Adler said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident.