Northern Michigan authorities say a 52-year-old pilot had a close call when his float plane crashed in the Au Sable River. Iosco County Sheriff Allan MacGregor says Daniel Gary of Oscoda was trying to land the 1960 Cessna 180D on Sunday when it flipped.
The Cessna 180 is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircraft and in utility roles such as bush flying.
MacGregor tells The Bay City Times that the plane landed upside down in the water above Foote Dam, west of Oscoda in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Gary was trapped inside, and the sheriff says the Oscoda Fire Department assembled a water rescue team before Gary managed to free himself without help. MacGregor says it appears that pilot error caused the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is to assist the Sheriff’s Marine Division in further investigation.
