1 dead after small plane crashes near Hwy. 212 in Eden Prairie
Updated 2:15 p.m. | Posted 12:48 p.m.
An experimental aircraft crashed Wednesday morning shortly after taking off from Flying Cloud Airport. The pilot, who'd reported a fire on board just after 11 a.m., is dead, police say.
Eden Prairie police and fire units responded in the morning to a report of a plane down at Eden Prairie Road and Glory Lane, just north of Minnesota Highway 212. They found the wreckage in the parking lot of Resurrection Life Church.
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Radio traffic between the pilot and the Flying Cloud tower indicated the pilot was attempting a takeoff and landing maneuver.
Eden Prairie police Lt. Bill Wyffels said a witness told officers the plane was circling above the crash site shortly before it went down. The plane, he added, did not hit the church or any other building, and damage was contained to the parking lot.
There were no passengers and no other injuries or property damage resulting from the crash, the department said.
The pilot's name was not released. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office is expected to identify the victim later.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB identified the plane as a Fisher Horizon II, an experimental craft that is purchased as a kit and intended to be built by the owner.
In 2009, two people died when a small plane crashed on the grounds of a historical farmstead outside Minneapolis shortly after taking off from Flying Cloud.