WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsUPDATE: Local pilot makes emergency landing in Elk Mound

UPDATE: Local pilot makes emergency landing in Elk Mound

Elk Mound (WQOW) - A small plane was forced to land in a corn field Friday night after experiencing engine problems.

According to the Dunn County Sheriff's Department the pilot was Alexander Samardzich of Bruce. Samardzich was the only passenger on board the aircraft. Deputies say the pilot was not injured and there was minor damage to the plane.

Samardzich was returning from Florida when he began having engine problems and was forced to land in a corn field south of U.S. Highway 29.

The FAA will be arriving Saturday to find out what went wrong during the flight. The aircraft is a 1984 Piper single engine plane.

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Dunn County Press Release: 

Friday at approximately 4:58 p.m. the Dunn County E-9-1-1 Center received a call reporting a small aircraft on the ground in a field in the Town of Elk Mound.

When a Dunn County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the scene, they found it was in a field on the west side of 970^th Street, south of STH 29. The deputy located the pilot & owner of the small aircraft and found that no one was injured and that there was only minor damage to the aircraft.

The aircraft is a 1984 Piper single engine airplane and is owned by Alexander Samardzich of Bruce, WI. Mr. Samardzich was the pilot and was alone in the aircraft returning from Florida when it went down. He reported that his airplane started having engine problems and he was force to do an emergency landing in the field.

The FAA will be arriving at the scene Saturday morning to complete a full investigation. No further information is available at this time.

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Elk Mound (WQOW) - A small plane landed in a field in Elk Mound Friday evening.

Law enforcement says the pilot was the only person onboard and they weren't injured.

The plane landed near 970th Street.  We'll release more details as they become available.