Farmington man dies in plane crash

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

by Kara Hildreth Thisweek Newspapers The body of Farmington pilot Andrew Lindberg, 32, was recovered Wednesday morning after a pilot spotted the tail of Lindberg’s airplane in a remote area of White Earth State Forest near Mahnomen in Clearwater County. After four days of searching – Lindberg’s plane was reported missing on his trip from Airlake Airport in Lakeville to Hallock, Minn. – at about 8 a.m. officials located the plane and directed law enforcement to the remote site. Special equipment was needed for law enforcement to reach the densely wooded area, according to Jeanine Brand, Clear Water County Attorney and public information officer for the county. Family members gathered about a mile and half from the crash site awaiting the recovery of Lindberg’s body, Brand said. The Rev. Bob Griggs, who is an uncle of Lindberg’s, was on site to support the family. The National Transportation and Safety Administration will investigate the cause of the crash. It appears the plane went nose down and Lindberg did not survive the crash, according to Brand. Lindberg took off by himself at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, destined to arrive in Hallock for a deer hunting excursion with his father. It is typically a two-hour trip under normal conditions such as Friday night, according to Maj. Al Pabon, director of public affairs with the CAP National Headquarters in the Twin Cities. According to the Federal Aviation Administration in Minneapolis, Lindberg’s aircraft fell off the radar at 6:30 p.m. The last recorded signal came from a text message Lindberg made to his father between 6:20 and 6:30 p.m. Friday that was verified by a signal at the cell tower in Wadena County. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida received word that Lindberg was a missing pilot Saturday. More than 110 volunteers from the Minnesota Civil Air Patrol concentrated their search in a seven-county, 2,000-square-mile area between Wadena and Hallock with 18 planes and five ground crews, according to Pabon. The crash took place on a line between Lakeville and Hallock, which is located in the extreme northwest corner of Minnesota. Lindberg reportedly received his pilot’s license a few months ago. His private, single-engine aircraft is called a PA-28 Piper Cherokee and had a six-person maximum capacity. Updates regarding this story will be posted online at www.ThisweekLive.com. Kara Hildreth is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

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