ANTWERP TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A pilot of an ultralight aircraft is seriously injured after crashing into Ackley Lake north of Paw Paw Friday evening, February 14th.
Police confirm that a neighbor witnessed the aircraft a couple hundred feet in the air heard it’s engine struggling before it crashed around 6:20 pm. He then got in his vehicle to go investigate. He found the Parasailer had crashed through the ice on the east end of Ackley lake. The witness jumped onto the lake, causing the thin ice to break.
He found the parasailer submerged and suspected he had been under water for five or ten minutes. When he lifted the victims head above water, he gasped for breath shortly after.
The rescuer then called 911 for assistance and held the crash victims head above water until emergency personnel arrived.
The weather at the time of the crash was reported between 15 and 18 degrees farenheit.
The crash victim was transported to Bronson Lakeview where he was stabilized andtransferred to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.
Van Buren County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted by V.B.E.M.S. and Paw Paw Quick Response, as wellas Michigan State Police from the Paw Paw Post.
The aircraft itself is often described as a “Paramotor” used in the sport of “Powered Parasailing.” This unit is basically a back pack with a motor and prop worn by a person to give flight to their parachute.
