Authorities in northern Minnesota are investigating a plane crash that was reported Saturday at 12:38 p.m.
A spokesperson for the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office said the single-seat, fixed wing amateur-built craft was en route from Brainerd to Winsted when it crashed on Round Lake, located north of the City of Garrison, near Mille Lacs Lake.
The pilot, a 63-year-old man from Mayer, was airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Witnesses told investigators it sounded like the plane was having engine trouble, and it appears the pilot was trying to make an emergency landing,” commented Aitkin County Dispatcher Ben Mowers.
The pilot’s identity has not been released by the sheriff’s office, pending the notification of family members, Mowers said.
South Aitkin First Responders, Garrison Fire Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, Crow Wing Sheriff’s Office, and North Ambulance all assisted Aitkin County at the scene of the crash.