Plane lands on Upper Red Lake, breaks through ice
A plane broke through the ice after attempting to land on Upper Red Lake on Tuesday morning, according to a news release from the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office.
The plane, a Cessna 172 Sky Hawk, had departed from Grand Rapids to go to Upper Red Lake for a day of ice fishing. The pilot found what he thought was a safe landing area, but the lack of snow caused the plane to have difficulty slowing down, authorities said. The plane slid into an area of thin ice on the southeastern shore of the lake and broke through around 9:20 a.m.
The two occupants of the plane were able to get out of the plane, and neither was injured. They were brought to a nearby resort and given dry clothes.
The pilot was identified Wednesday as 72-year-old Lawrence Daigle of Cohasset, Minnesota, who authorities say has made arrangements to remove the plane from the lake. Daigle’s passenger was identified as 63-year-old Karl Uhlenhopp of Aplington, Iowa.
This incident comes just two days after dozens of people were rescued on Upper Red Lake after being stranded on an ice chunk that drifted away from the main ice sheet connected to the shore.