Pilot from Chicago dies in mid-Sunday crash
A Chicago area pilot is dead after the plane he was flying crashed and burned in a residential yard near Eagle Lake in the Town of Dover about noon Sunday.
The pilot, John “David” Brock, 66, was the only occupant of the plane. According to the Racine County Sheriff’s Department, the Beechcraft Bonanza A-3 single-engine plane left the Chicago Executive Airport and was head to Minocqua when it crashed.
Witnesses told investigators from the Sheriff’s Department that the single-engine plane crashed in the backyard of a residence and burst into flames.
Sheriff’s officials said the resulting fireball caused extensive damage to the property, which is located in the Eagle Lake Manor neighborhood. There were no injuries reported to people on the ground.
Brian Hinzpeter, who lives about two blocks from the crash site, said he heard the plane coming and assumed it was an aircraft that has landed on the lake in the past.
“The next thing I knew the house was rattling,” he said, referring to the impact of the crash.
He said he and many of his neighbors ran to see what had happened.
According to numerous reports, the pilot was on his way from Chicago to Minocqua in northern Wisconsin.
Sheriff’s officials said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are continuing to investigate the crash.
Hinzpeter said he saw investigators at the site through the night and early Monday morning, sifting through the rubble.
He also said it appeared a garage on the property had been destroyed and siding on the nearby home was damaged.
“It was an eye-opener,” Hinzpeter said of the experience.
Look for additional coverage of the crash, including the latest information, in this week’s print editions of the Burlington Standard Press and Westine Report.
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