One person is dead after a personal aircraft crashed into a wooded area in the Crow-Hassan Park Reserve near St. Michael Saturday, Feb. 22.
The individual – the pilot of the Beech aircraft – was flying solo at the time.
The crash happened shortly after 11 a.m. Witnesses said they saw thick, black smoke immediately from the site the plane disappeared below the treeline, indicating a crash.
Around 11:15 a.m., officials from Three Rivers Park District, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and St. Michael Fire closed off entrances to the park, as well as Lower Rec Park in St. Michael, as officials tended to the crash site just east of the Crow River on the St. Michael/Rogers border.
Rogers Police and Fire, North Memorial EMS and an aviation unit from the Minnesota State Patrol also responded to the crash.
“Our deepest sympathy goes to the friends and family of the deceased. We will continue to work with federal and local investigators to gather additional information,” Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson said in a release to Twin Cities media Saturday afternoon.