Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, it was more like a bird towing a plane.
Folks living near Whitewater Lake, located south of the city of Whitewater and southwest of the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest — which extends some 30 miles between Dousman and Whitewater — had opportunity to view an unusual sight Wednesday, May 26, when appearing in the sky was a helicopter transporting a disabled plane which crashed into the unit’s forest canopy nearly two weeks ago.
On May 15, at 9:15 p.m., the Whitewater Fire Department earlier reported, rescue units were dispatched to the Kettle Moraine Forest after learning from Walworth County officials and Milwaukee Air Traffic Control that a plane had dropped from radar in the area.
The crash site was located near the Ice Age Trail off of County Road P in Walworth County where the plane, with three occupants, dangled in the tree canopy some 75 feet off the ground. Passengers in the plane were uninjured and were rescued using a rope system. The rescue took five hours, according to the Whitewater Fire Department, after which the plane itself was left in the trees.
Robert Sivek, an area resident, took a photograph of the plane Wednesday as it traveled through the sky attached to a helicopter, and, posting it on Facebook, he wrote: “Amazing work taking the plane out of the trees on the Ice Age Trail.”
Sivek’s photograph garnered 61 comments from Facebook users posting within a Whitewater Lake-specific Facebook group, and some group members shared photos and videos of their own.
Describing his observations, Sivek wrote: “The plane was rigged for the lift before the helicopter positioned itself. I was able to watch two passes, and then the plane was lifted.”
On May 15, the Whitewater Fire Department reported that the single-engine aircraft was traveling from Sheboygan to Burlington when it lost power and was forced to deploy an emergency parachute.
A related story, with pictures of the crash site, is found here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/three-occupants-rescued-after-plane-crash-in-kettle-moraine-forest/.
A plane is lifted from the tree canopy and transported by helicopter Wednesday after crashing in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest on Saturday, May 15.
Photo contributed by Robert Sivek.
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