For The 2nd Time In A Month, Duluth Cirrus Planes Save Lives
Just last week I covered a story about a mid-air collision that happened near Denver, Colorado. A cargo plane and a Cirrus SR 22 collided. The Cirrus aircraft deployed its Cirrus Advanced Parachute System (CAPS) to parachute and safely bring the plane to the ground.
Then today I found another instance where just days ago on May 15, 2021 another Cirrus plane deployed it's CAPS system to safely end an emergency. This time it happened in the Kettle Moraine Forrest in Southeastern Wisconsin. According to a press release from the Whitewater, Wisconsin Fire Department, they were alerted to a possible plane crash after the plane disappeared from the Milwaukee air traffic controller's radar.
Shortly after a 911 call was placed by the pilot of the Cirrus plane. It took crews about 45 minutes to find the plane that had rested in the tree canopy about 75 feet off of the ground. Initial findings appear the the plane was flying from Sheboygan to Burlington when it lost power and needed to deploy their emergency parachute. 3 people were on the plane and no one was injured after a successful rescue from local emergency response teams.
It took crews 5 hours utilizing rope systems to get the passengers safely off of the plane. They used ATVs to get equipment to the crash site. Several agencies and even a tree service were used because of their knowledge of tree climbing. Here's a video of the rescue that was posted on YouTube.
The single engine plane was built by Cirrus, where many of the models are manufactured right here in Duluth, Minnesota. Cirrus designed and innovated the CAPS emergency system. If a pilot is in an emergency situation and there is no way to land the plane conventionally, they can deploy the chute to gently land. In this case it was in the tree tops, but nobody was injured thanks to the tremendous work of the following rescue squads: Whitewater Fire Department, Dudek Tree Service, and assistance from Janesville, Beloit, Elkhorn, Lagrange, and Madison Heavy Urban Rescue Team.