A small plane crashed into a house near the Midway International Airport on Tuesday with reports indicating that the pilot, identified as Eric Quentin Howlett, experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff.
The Federal Aviation Administration told ABC Chicago that the pilot, who was killed in the crash, was scheduled to fly to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling before changing his destination to Ohio State University Airport.
Just minutes after leaving Midway, Howlett radioed that he is experiencing trouble with his left engine. The Air Traffic Control unit cleared him to return to the airport, but the Midway tower lost contact of the plane a minute after the last time the pilot communicated with them.
"My understanding is the pilot advised air traffic control that he had some type of engine problem and he was attempting to return to the airport when he lost control of the aircraft and crashed," Air Safety Investigator, Tim Sorenson, said.
The twin-engine cargo plane crashed into a two-story house just a quarter-mile away from the airport's runway. Luckily, the plane hit the living and dining room of the house, leaving an elderly couple uninjured.
Luz Cazares, a witness, told the Chicago Tribune that a huge part of the plane was in the living room of Raymond and Roberta Rolinkas, who are both in their 80s. Cazares admitted that they thought the couple was killed in the crash until they saw both of them outside the hallway of their bedroom.
Jeanine Venckus, another witness, rushed into the house after the crash to check the elderly couple, and she felt a sigh of relief when she saw Raymond and Roberta Rolinkas without even a single scratch.
"They're elderly people. They're my parents' friends, and I had to make sure they got out," Venckus said. "The firemen arrived when I got out there with my coat on, and they said you cannot go in there, and I said I have to. I have to check on them."
