DEERFIELD, Ill. — The pilot who died in a crash of his light plane in a northwest Chicago suburb has been identified as Chester Wojnicki, age 75, of nearby Mount Pleasant. Wojnicki was a veteran with the Illinois Civil Patrol and was well-known in local aviation circles. He had been president of the American Polish Aero Club in Chicago. He was alone in his six-passenger Cesna 210M on a short hop from Wisconsin. Visibility was about one mile when he began his descent to the Wheeling airport and crashed in low fog. He disappeared from radar about 700 feet.
Wojnicki. Member of Civil Air Patrol squad that met weekly at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling.
In townhouse backyard. No injuries on ground.
Cessna 210 Centurion. About 9,200 manufactrued in various configurations from 1957 to 1986. Later models, like Wojnicki’s 210M, had retractable landing gear, a wider and deeper cabin with third-row side windows, and a swept tail. Stall speed: 70 mph.