Small plane lands safely on ice near Mackinac Island after experiencing engine trouble

2/17/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich.  — Police say a single-engine plane with seven people on board made an emergency landing on the ice of Lake Huron near Mackinac Island after experiencing engine trouble.

State police say there were no injuries in the landing about 8:40 a.m. Monday between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas.

The 29-year-old pilot works for Great Lakes Air, which notified police. The pilot reported that the small plane’s engine quit and he restarted it, but it quit again. The aircraft wasn’t damaged in the landing.

Police and firefighters from Mackinac Island responded along with citizens on snowmobiles, who helped get the plane’s occupants to the island.

WWTV-WWUP reports the plane was heading to the island from St. Ignace. Great Lakes Air plans to tow the plane across the ice to St. Ignace.