ST. IGNACE, MI-- The winter’s frigid temperatures held a silver lining Monday, as a single-engine plane used the ice of Lake Huron to make an emergency landing.
State Police say the Great Lakes Air Piper aircraft containing six passengers landed between Mackinac Island and St. Ignace around 8:40 a.m. after the 29-year-old pilot reported the plane’s engine had quit. He was able to restart it, but it quit again. Not willing to take any more chances the pilot landed on Lake Huron ice.
One passenger commented the landing was softer than on a runway.
No one was injured and the plane was not damaged. Great Lakes Air will have the plane towed to determine what caused the engine problems.
State Police from the St. Ignace Post were assisted by the Mackinac Island Police Department. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are also investigating the incident.
