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Airplane Makes Hard Landing North of Spirit Lake Airport

Airplane Makes Hard Landing North of Spirit Lake Airport

Photo: Saga Communications


Okoboji, IA (Northwestiowanow.com) — The pilot of a small airplane walked away from an incident just North of the Spirit Lake Airport Saturday morning. The Airport is located in Okoboji, and the plane wound up just Southwest of Kenue Park – about a city block’s distance away.
Dickinson County Sheriff Greg Balloun says 71 year old Kenneth Kemna from North Fort Myers, Florida says the plane had some sort of mechanical failure just after takeoff around 10:40 a.m.
Arnolds Park / Okoboji Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Youngbluth says his crew was able to get there in just a few minutes despite 4th of July traffic.

Other responding agencies include: Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, and Mliford police; Spirit Lake Ambulance; and Dickinson County Emergency Management.
Balloun says the investigation has been turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane appears to be a CC19-215 Cub equipped with floats for amphibious landings.

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