Plane crashes into Lake Winnebago, 2 die

The National Transportation Safety Board has started to investigate a plane crash in Lake Winnebago that killed a man and a woman.

Authorities said a yellow 1940 Piper Cub was apparently trying to make an emergency landing when it went down. It happened just before noon yesterday about a quarter-mile off the western shore of Lake Winnebago, halfway between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh – where about 10-thousand planes are flying in-and-out of the EAA Air Venture Show.

The victims’ names were not immediately released. The plane was registered to Tri-Star Aviation of Wilmington Delaware. 90-year-old Robert Abraham saw the crash from his home. He said the plane was going south from Oshkosh when it hit the water, spun 180-degrees, and stopped.

Abraham said he was hoping to see the pilot’s head emerge, but it never did. Boaters tried to get a rope to the aircraft. But they couldn’t do anything until rescuers arrived. The FAA and Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputies are helping the national safety board with the investigation.