Small plane crash-lands in Sugar Grove cornfield

A small plane crash-landed in a cornfield Friday morning near Aurora Municipal Airport in west suburban Sugar Grove.

Authorities were notified about 7:10 a.m. that a plane had landed in a field near the airport at 43W636 U.S. 30 in Sugar Grove, according to the Kane County sheriff’s office.

The pilot, a 58-year-old Geneva man, took off from Aurora in a Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft and was headed to Arizona with his 65-year-old wife when the plane experienced some kind of emergency in the air, according to the sheriff’s office and the FAA. The FAA is investigating the incident.

The pilot used his cellphone to communicate with first responders, who could not initially see the plane because it “was obscured by the tall corn in the field,” the sheriff’s office said.

The Aurora Fire Department used a ladder truck to get a view above the field, and while firefighters still couldn’t see the plane, the pilot was able to spot the truck.

He then directed fire personnel on an ATV to his location, according to the sheriff’s office. He and his wife were checked by paramedics and released at the scene.