Pilot makes emergency landing in Cary field

Officials are still investigating the reason why a plane had to make an emergency landing in a field near Cary Wednesday evening.

Wendy Kummerer, spokeswoman from the McHenry County Conservation District, said officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be in the field off Hickory Nut Grove investigating the reason for the emergency landing.

She added Barrington pilot Douglas Nealey will also be on hand to speak with investigators about the engine trouble he sustained prior to setting the single engine craft down in the field at 5:15 p.m.

“He told one of our officers that he saw the open field and headed for it when he realized he was having engine trouble,” she said. “The good news is he was able to walk away from it.”

She said it remains unclear how long the investigation will take place, but now the conservation district is trying to figure out how to remove the plane without damaging additional wetlands in the Lyons Prairie and Marsh conservation area.

“Our officers are out there right now trying to figure out how to get the plane out of there,” she said. “Thankfully, the weather has been dry and its not muddy out there. If it was muddy, we would have additional problems.”