Plane Clipped A House Short Of The Runway In Night Landing

A pilot whose plane got too low and impacted a house on approach to Brookeridge Air Park (LL22) Saturday night remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on charges of operating an aircraft under the influence.

While on approach to Runway 27 just after 11 pm, pilot Sean Oskvarek, 45, clipped the roof of a house on Kentwood Court. The plane then impacted trees and came to rest inverted in a grassy area just short of the runway, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The pilot, who was the only occupant of the plane, was picked up at the scene by his sister before authorities arrived, his mother said. DuPage County Deputies caught up to Oskvarek at a home in nearby Woodridge, and took him to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer's Grove for medical treatment. He was taken into custody upon his release from the hospital and charged.

Bob Siegfried, airport manager and president of the air park's board of directors, said he saw no evidence of alcohol or drugs inside the plane when he examined it with an FAA inspector on Sunday, the Tribune said.

The 1977 Cessna 182 was owned by Oskvarek's mother, Evangeline, who is a resident of the fly-in community. Oskvarek, not a "frequent flier" at Brookeridge, had borrowed the plane for a flight to Wisconsin, Seigfried said.

Both Illinois law and Federal Aviation Authority regulations consider a pilot impaired with a blood-alcohol content of 0.04 or more. Oskvarek was charged by the DuPage County Sheriff's Department with a Class 3 felony, which carries a two-to-five year sentence for the offense.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov