ROCHESTER, Minn. — The pilot of a light plane that crashed at a Rochester golf course told the first person to arrive that his engine quit on him. The pilot whose injuries were slight, was shaken but coherent, the rescuer said. It was believed the pilot had been making touch-and-go landing exercises at the nearby Rochester airport. Without saying why, authorities have not released the pilot’s name. It is known he had flown south from the Lakeville airport 60 miles away. The plane, a Beechcraft Muskateer, was owned by a flying club at Lakeville. The plane went down in trees at Oak Summit golf course. There was nobody on the ground to be injured. The pilot was flying alone. The first to arrive at the wreckage, Mitchell DeCook, who lives nearby, said he helped the plot open the plane’s door. The ground, DeCook said, was soaked in fuel. They moved quickly away in case fire broke out. The RST control tower had received a mayday alert before the crash. The pilot knew he was going down. De Cook said the pilot had a cut on his forehead and complained that his hurt neck.
Crumpled wreckage. Just off fairways at Oak Summit golf course. Image: Olmsted County sheriff
Beechcraft Musketeer. A single-engine low-wing light craft. Manufactured from 1963 to 1983 in many variations. Total production: 4,600. Popular as flight trainer. Speed: 120 mph cruising, max 145. Range 770 miles. Ceiling: 13,000 feet.
