Overview

• The aircraft departed Milwaukee Mitchell International around 12:17 p.m. on Sept. 11 and went into Lake Michigan roughly 20 minutes later about 12 nautical miles off Milwaukee.
• Sector Lake Michigan was alerted by Chicago air traffic control and a search-and-rescue satellite, deploying a 45-foot Response Boat–Medium and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.
• All three occupants were pulled from the water uninjured after wearing life jackets, using their phones to text their position, and benefiting from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter.
• Survivors spent about 30 to 40 minutes in the water before recovery, then were taken to EMS or returned home following evaluation.
• The aircraft sank and is not deemed a navigational hazard, the cause remains unknown, and reports conflict on the plane’s type with the Coast Guard citing a Cessna and local sources a Cirrus SR22.