Overview

• U.S. Coast Guard Station Milwaukee pulled three people from the water at about 1:30 p.m. CDT roughly 12 nautical miles off the Milwaukee/Racine coast.
• Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center alerted Sector Lake Michigan at 12:45 p.m., prompting a 45-foot response boat and an MH-60 Jayhawk from Traverse City to launch, with local sheriff, fire, and harbor units assisting.
• The survivors used cell phones to text first responders, the aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter aided tracking, and all three wore personal flotation devices.
• The flight departed Milwaukee Mitchell International around 12:17 p.m. for Michigan; the aircraft later sank and was deemed not a navigational hazard.
• Officials gave conflicting early identifications of the aircraft—Coast Guard cited a Cessna and the airport described a Cirrus SR22—and the cause has not been disclosed.