Plane crash in Joliet leaves pilot dead, house damaged

JOLIET – Brittany Grajewski was in the Brighton Lakes subdivision’s pool late Thursday morning when she heard what she thought was thunder from above.

But as Grajewski, an attendant at the pool, looked to the sky, she saw a small plane twirling toward Earth as it traveled north over Theodore Street. She saw debris fall off the plane, although she said it wasn’t large enough to be a wing or propeller.

Grajewski believes the pilot was trying to land in one of the neighborhood’s retention ponds.

“You could tell the pilot was in panic mode, trying to find somewhere to land it,” she said.

Authorities said parts of the plane were located as far as a mile away, suggesting it might have been coming apart before it hit the ground at 11:14 a.m., leaving the aircraft destroyed and the pilot dead. The smoldering wreckage of the plane lay in a Brighton Lakes road as area residents tried to extinguish flames using garden hoses before emergency crews arrived. The crash also caused a house at 1812 Hampton Court to catch fire, leaving it charred but the homeowners and their pets alive.

Public property records show the house is owned by Richard and Patricia Daniel.

“We are very fortunate to have a plane crash in a crowded residential neighborhood like this and not have any additional injuries,” Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said. “It’s amazing.”

Flight originated in Florida

Ed Malinowski with the National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was a Piper PA-30, The Associated Press reported. It had taken off from Florida and landed in Tennessee before taking off again toward Wisconsin.

A large piece of debris was found about a mile from the scene in the 1400 block of Broadlawn Drive, not far from an area Wal-Mart, Joliet Fire Department Battalion Chief John Stachelski said.

Joliet Deputy Fire Chief Ray Randich said crews arriving at the scene were met outside by the homeowner. Officials believe the fuel tanks ruptured when the plane came down, spilling fuel and gas onto the street and toward the house, allowing flames to scale the side of the two-story home, which is in Joliet but has a Plainfield address. The plane was on the south side of the street and the house that ignited was across to the north.

Joliet City Manager Jim Hock said the pilot died in the crash, but the remains were in a condition that could not be identified. The Will County Coroner’s Office said the unidentified person was pronounced dead at 2:58 p.m. at Bedford Drive and Hampton Court. The name is being withheld until a positive identification is made.

Because of the subject’s condition, the coroner’s office said it could take days or weeks until the identification is confirmed. Hock also said investigators from the NTSB were “out there and said there was only the pilot in the plane.”

Joliet Regional Airport Manager Jennifer McFarland said she would not know if the plane wanted to land at the Joliet airfield because it is an uncontrolled airport and does not get advance notice of incoming planes.

Benton noted that the incident is still under investigation and local officials will work with the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration’s crash site team. The NTSB will lead the investigation and determine the probable cause of the crash.

‘Sounded like a missile’

Patricia Daniel returned to her damaged house in the evening as work crews arrived to board it up. Daniel declined requests for interviews, and a friend said she was exhausted.

Neighbors Bill and Marjorie Theobald said it was a horrible experience for Daniel and the neighborhood. She came into their house for a time after the fire to change clothes and cool off.

Daniel was in the house when the plane hit the street and fire spread to her house, Marjorie said.

“She was sitting in the family room,” Marjorie said. “She said she was going to go upstairs and take a nap. She would have been killed.”

Bill Theobald said Daniel escaped from the house with her beagle.

It was hard to tell what happened when the crash occurred, Bill said. Their daughter Christina said, “It sounded almost like a missile.”

“I think what we heard was that high-pitched sound,” Bill said. “It was like a whistling sound.”

The plane hit the street with an explosion but the debris in the street looked nothing like an airplane, Bill said. The impact of the crash was so immense that their house, kitty-corner from where the plane hit, shook.

When they looked to see what happened, a stream of fire spread from the debris on the street to Daniel’s house.

“We didn’t know if it was a meteor,” He said. “The street’s on fire. It could have been anything.”

Crash sounded ‘unearthly’

After she saw the plane, Grajewski left the pool and hopped in her car toward the scene of the crash about a quarter mile north of Theodore Street, fearing someone she’s known for over 20 years would be in harm’s way. Her family moved to the subdivision in 1993.

“My concern was making sure other residents were OK,” Grajewski said a couple hours after the crash as she looked at the pool full of children. “I’ve watched these kids grow up.”

It was no more than 45 seconds from the time she first saw the plane until it hit the ground, she said. She’s known the family for 20 years that had the pulverized plane at the end of its driveway.

After making sure other residents in the area were alright, Grajewski headed back to work at the pool.

“I was shaking for about an hour,” she said. “I haven’t been calm enough to sit down.”

Pat Crotty said she was in her yard at Bedford Drive and Brighton Lane, about a block away, doing yard work when she saw the plane spiraling out of control. It happened so fast she wasn’t able to tell what kind of plane it was.

Crotty said the plane made an “unearthly” sound when it crashed into the ground. She ran down the street barefoot after the crash, knocking on people’s doors to get them out of their houses. She said she also told people to clear the street so emergency crews could get there.

Multiple fire engines and ambulances responded to the crash site, and police asked motorists to avoid the area of the crash for much of the afternoon.

Joliet police have been asked to secure the scene throughout Friday as the NTSB investigation continues, Benton said later Thursday afternoon. He noted the investigation can be a drawn-out process and take up to a year to conclude what happened.

• Herald-News Senior Reporter Bob Okon, Digital Editor Anna Schier and Editor Kate Schott contributed to this report.