No injuries after plane lands without gear at Lake in the Hills Airport

LAKE IN THE HILLS – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused a twin-engine plane to land at Lake in the Hills Airport without its landing gear Thursday morning.

Neither the pilot nor the passenger of the Beech 95-B55 Baron – both of whom were with the airport's on-site maintenance business – were injured in the crash, which happened shortly after
11 a.m. Thursday. The airport reopened about 1:15 p.m., Airport Manager Michael Peranich said.

While the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department was called to the scene, there was no fire and no spilled fluids as a result of the crash, Deputy Chief Christopher Olsen said.

The plane had just undergone its annual maintenance at Finefield Aviation Inc. – it was not in the shop for any specific problem – and two employees had taken it out, company President Jim Finefield said. He said the pilot attempted to deploy the landing gear, but it did not come down.

“As of right now, we don’t know what happened,” Finefield said.

The plane, built in 1980, is registered to an owner in Brookfield, Wisconsin, according to FAA records.