Small Plane Crash At Chicago Rockford International Airport Leaves 4 Injured

A small plane crashed just short of the runway Monday evening at Chicago Rockford International Airport. Initially it was reported five people, including fire officials, were injured. However, the number later came down to four, WREX-TV, an NBC-affiliated television station, reported.

There were four people on board when King Air C90 crashed Monday around 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. EST), according to a report in NBC owned-and-operated television, WMAQ-TV. While one person was able to walk out of the plane, another was able to get out with assistance. Two more people onboard needed to be extricated.

While an official reason for the crash is still unknown, Rockford airport officials said the airplane missed the runway as it was about to land.

The cause for the plane to crash could be anything, a report in My State Line News stated. The report added the plane may have “clipped a tree, rammed through an exterior fence and ended up on airport property, ripping off the tail section of the aircraft.”

Airport officials believe the cause could be windy conditions, but added that a potential mechanical problem or a pilot error could not be ruled out.

However, they did not clarify whether there were any emergency transmissions prior to the crash. Reports suggested the plane was supposed to land in Rockford. WREX-TV added Falcon Road is expected to be closed overnight until Tuesday and the runway is also expected to be reopened shortly.

The incident will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ABC owned-and-operated television station, WLS-TV reported.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory spoke to WMAQ-TV about the pending investigation of the crash and said, “Investigations take several months to a year or more to complete.This information is preliminary and subject to change as the investigation continues."

The latest update in the story suggested that out of the four people hurt, one of them had life-threatening injuries, while the other three are expected to recover shortly.

In a similar incident in July, an Air Canada flight nearly landed on a busy taxiway instead of the allotted runway at San Francisco International Airport. The incident involving flight AC759 from Toronto was investigated by the FAA.

The organization had then said in a statement “Airbus A320 was cleared for landing on runway 28R, however, the pilot "inadvertently" lined up for Taxiway C that runs parallel to the runway that the aircraft was supposed to land on.”

Four more aircrafts were lined up on the taxiway at the time. The FAA had described the incident was very “rare.” The situation with the landing was brought under control only after an air controller became aware of the issue. He had reportedly ordered the pilot to turn back and make another approach to the runway. Along with FAA, the incident was also investigated by Air Canada.