Plane Runs Out Of Gas, Makes Emergency Landing In Monee Township

MONEE TOWNSHIP, IL — A small airplane made an emergency landing Tuesday morning in rural Monee Township after the pilot ran out of gas, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.

Just before 8 a.m., authorities received several 911 calls about a plane landing south of Church Road between Kedzie and Western avenues, with one witness reporting a man had exited the aircraft, Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kathy Hoffmeyer said. The emergency landing site is about 2 miles south of Bult Field Airport.

Sheriff’s office and fire personnel responded and learned that the pilot was a 36-year-old man traveling from Butler County Regional Airport in Hamilton, Ohio, according to Hoffmeyer. He had forgotten to switch the plane’s gas tank to the reserve, forcing the emergency landing, Hoffmeyer said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident and identified the aircraft as a single-engine Cessna 172.