AirVenture-Bound Piper Cherokee Crashes in Lake Michigan

Stephen Pope

Monday, July 29, 2013 at 06:15 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Two men en route to EAA AirVenture died on Saturday afternoon when their Piper Cherokee crashed into Lake Michigan shortly after departing Batten Airport in Racine, Wisconsin.
The airplane was found submerged a few miles off the coast near Milwaukee, with the bodies of both men inside.
Radar contact was lost approximately 20 minutes into the flight, which was being conducted under VFR without contact with air traffic control.

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Two men headed for EAA AirVenture in a Piper Cherokee died on Saturday afternoon when they crashed into Lake Michigan shortly after departing from Batten Airport in Racine, Wisconsin.

Coast Guard rescue crews located the airplane submerged in the water a few miles off the coast near Milwaukee at around 5:30 p.m., an hour and a half after it crashed. The bodies of both men were found inside the airplane. The 1975 Piper was based at Batten Airport.