GENEVA COUPLE OK AFTER EMERGENCY LANDING
A Geneva couple were uninjured after their plane made an emergency landing in a cornfield west of Aurora Municipal Airport Friday morning.
Edward Bonifas, 58, and his wife Carmella Bonifas, 65, were headed to Arizona, according to Kane County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Pat Gengler.
Gengler said authorities were called just after 7 a. m. for a report of a Piper Seneca propeller plane that crashlanded in an unharvested cornfield west of Dugan Road and south of Scott Road near Sugar Grove.
“The pilot was actually, I believe, talking by cellphone to the tower when he landed,” Gengler said. “He had no idea where he was and we couldn’t see him from the road.”
The Aurora Fire Department responded and extended a large ladder from the truck to look for the plane, Gengler said. Bonifas was able to see the ladder, and rescue crews used an ATV to fight their way through the tall corn to bring the couple to safety.
The couple were evaluated at the scene and allowed to go home, Gengler said. They had planned to fly to Arizona with a refueling stop in Kansas.
“The fact that they walked away from the scene is pretty cool,” Gengler said. “The corn can dissipate a lot of energy.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.