ROCHESTER, Minn. — A twin-engine plane carrying seven people diverted from its course near the Iowa birder for an emergency landing at the Rochester airport. The landing was without incident, said airport spokesperson Mary Gastner. What went wrong wasn’t immediately clear. The plane was more than half into a 600-mile flight from Columbus, Nebraska, to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, when the pilot abruptly descended and pivoted north for Rochester. Take-off in Iowa had been at 8:15 a.m. The emergency was 45 minutes later. The RST touchdown was at 9:26 a.m. The plane is operated by Silverhawk Aviation, a charter service in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company has a fleet of 22 airplanes.
Beechcraft King Air 30. Cruises at 410 mph. Can go 500. Cruising altitude 30,000 feet. Between 1972 and 2023 theee were 4,200 built in various models. No longer in production.
Interrupted flight path. Jerky diversion to Rochester. Image: Flightaware.com