Federal authorities have taken over the investigation of a plane crash in western Wisconsin that killed a pilot from Upper Michigan.
Authorities said 73-year-old Richard Schweitzer of Watersmeet took off Friday afternoon, heading from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Nebraska. His single-engine Cessna went missing over central Wisconsin.
Civil Air Patrol units from Wisconsin and Minnesota searched more than 24 hours for the missing craft before finding it Saturday evening near Bay City in Pierce County. Ground searchers found Schweitzer’s body in a farm field. Authorities have not said whether the plane had mechanical problems, or if the pilot suffered a medical problem.
The National Transportation Safety Board normally issues a preliminary investigative report within a few weeks on fatal plane crashes.
WSAU
