Medical plane crashes into lake

MILWAUKEE – A medical transport plane carrying six members of an organ transplant team went down Monday afternoon in Lake Michigan shortly after the pilot signaled an emergency, authorities said. There was no word on survivors.

Nearly three dozen divers searched near debris and an oil slick in about 20 feet of water, Milwaukee Fire Chief Doug Holton said. They called off the search Monday night after more than six hours and planned to return at daybreak.

The pilot of the Cessna Citation issued a distress signal within five minutes of taking off at 4 p.m. from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said.

The plane was headed for Willow Run Airport near Detroit, a 42-minute flight, Molinaro said.

Coast Guard searchers found what they believe was the plane around 4:20 p.m., about 20 minutes after being notified, Petty Officer David Warfel said. The debris was found about six miles northeast of Milwaukee, Molinaro said.

There has been no sign of the four passengers or two crew members, Molinaro said.

The plane was leased by the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, according to a university statement. The team was returning from Milwaukee with unspecified organs for transplant to a patient in Michigan.

When health system officials learned of the crash, they notified the transplant team in Michigan to stop preparing the transplant candidate.

The patient was in critical condition, the university said.

The university identified those on the plane: Dr. David Ashburn, a physician-in-training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery; transplant donation specialists Richard Chenault II and Richard Lapensee; pilots Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra; and cardiac surgeon Dr. Martinus “Martin” Spoor.

“The plane was traveling at an estimated 185 to 190 mph, and the impact on the water would be “absolutely devastating,” Holton said.

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Bruce Jones said the water temperature was 57 degrees and survivors could live for 16 hours.