Small plane crashes near Eden Prairie airport
A small plane crash at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie has injured two people this afternoon.
Police said they were called to a report of a plane crash south of the airport shortly before 3 p.m.
"It crashed right on the side of the Minnesota River, and was partially submerged," said Joyce Lorenz, a spokeswoman for the city of Eden Prairie.
The pilot, 56-year-old Alvin Bites, and 58-year-old passenger Timothy Jacobson were conscious and alert when they were removed from the plane. They were taken to HCMC in Minneapolis, but their conditions were not available.
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The aircraft was a Beechcraft 95 Travel Air, and rescuers reached it from the riverbank. The plane had taken off from the Eden Prairie airport and had listed New Richmond as a destination in a flight plan filed before takeoff.
There was no word of what might have caused the crash, but weather conditions have been clear and relatively calm around the Twin Cities today.
This is the third crash at Flying Cloud Airport in eight months. Two people were killed on Aug. 12, 2009, after the pilot lost control of the plane while circling the airport.
One person was seriously injured on Oct. 5, 2009, after losing power in one of the plane's engine.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
