Plane Overshoots Runway, Crashes on I-94 Near Highway 11

A plan trying to land at Sylvania Airport instead overshot the runway and came to a stop on Interstate 94 Monday night. 

The twin-engine plan, owned by Skydive Midwest, was coming in from Jackson, MI, according to the Federal Aviation Authority. When it went to land about 6:50 p.m., a mechanical problem came up, said Lt. Dan Adams of the Racine County Sheriff's Department.

The plane overshot the runway, went across the grass, through the fence and onto I-94. Almost immediately, multiple 911 calls came in, from people reporting the aircraft on the freeway.

There were two people on board, a male pilot and female passenger. The pilot refused transport to the hospital; the passenger was taken to a hospital in Kenosha County with non-life-threatening injuries.

Union Grove Yorkville Fire Department Assistant Chief Tim Allen said it was surprising that traffic didn't run into the plane.

"We don't know if there was a break in the traffic or what, but it is extremely fortunate that no vehicles made any contact with the plane once it stopped on the expressway," he said.

The FAA is investigating, and the Department of Natural Resources is on scene, to help manage the fuel spill. The plane was carrying 250 gallons of fuel when it crashed, and much of that is now spilled on the freeway.

The plane will be towed off I-94 and back to the airport, and the expressway is expected to reopen by 10:30 p.m.

"That's a best guess," Adams said. "We don't move airplanes off the expressway on a regular basis."

Eastbound I-94 was shut down at Highway 20, and the Wisconsin State Patrol and Racine County Sheriff's Department diverted area traffic.

The Union Grove-Yorkville and Raymond fire and rescue departments are among those responding to the scene.

WISN-TV is reporting that the King aircraft crashed near mile marker 333. The Skydive Midwest website states its plane, named Delta Alpha, was recently restored and has a "sleek new interior and sturdy light-weight bench seats" and is 200 pounds lighter. 

Allen said it was the first time that he knows in 25 years that a plane has ended up on the expressway.