Sycamore pilot survives when small plane crashes near DeKalb
December 11, 2012 10:54PM
Maps
Updated: December 12, 2012 4:07PM
DEKALB, Ill. -- A pilot from Sycamore was hurt but conscious after his plane crashed Tuesday afternoon in a field just south of DeKalb Airport.
James L. Auman, 62, was trapped inside the single-engine airplane when it crashed about 3:45 p.m. near Route 38 just east of Weber Road, about a quarter-mile south of DeKalb Airport, authorities said.
Firefighters from nearby DeKalb and Cortland cut him out of the wreck, DeKalb County Sheriff’s police said. Auman was alert and able to communicate with paramedics.
The aircraft, a T-51 Mustang, was registered to Auman, who is also named as the plane’s maker, according to Federal Aviation Administration records and spokesman Tony Molinaro.
Auman, of the 700 block of West State Street in Sycamore, was airlifted to Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford following the crash.
Authorities could not say Tuesday night what caused the crash. The FAA, National Transportation Safety Board and DeKalb Sheriff’s police will continue to investigate.
