Probes of plane accidents continue
Federal authorities continue to investigate two recent small-plane crashes, one where a pilot made an emergency landing along the Reagan Memorial Tollway near Maple Park and another where a pilot set down in a wheat field south of Kankakee.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane in the Monday case near Maple Park was an experimental aircraft belonging to Joseph D. Dougherty of Wheaton.
Dougherty declined to be interviewed Tuesday but said he is "fine."
His plane, a two-seat 1982 Knight-Wilcox Vari-Eze, developed engine trouble while flying from Waukegan to Aurora, according to state police. A wing clipped a passing truck as the aircraft set down in the grassy median.
The pilot was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries, according to police. The driver of the truck was not injured.
An ad that appeared June 4 on barnerstormer.com indicated Dougherty was trying to sell the plane for $25,000.
Dougherty is a commercial air transport pilot and has a license to teach people to fly single- and multi-engine instrument airplanes.
On Saturday, a Naperville man's 1981 Beech A36 six-seat plane crashed near Chebanse, killing his sister-in-law and injuring him and his wife.
FAA records indicate Ray Jakubiak has a commercial license and an instructor's license for single-engine aircraft.
The trio was flying from Nashville to the Chicago area.
When the plane experienced engine trouble, Jakubiak brought it down in a wheat field, where the plane caught fire.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss said there are typically 1,300 to 1,400 general-aviation accidents a year across the country. "Whenever we see any commonalities between accidents, then we begin an investigation (to see if they are related)," he said.
The NTSB website says it can take 12 to 18 months for a final report on what causes a crash.
FAA statistics indicate that in the first six months of 2019, 617 cases were reported. In 2018, there were 764, and in 2017 there were 722.