A 63-year-old Mayer, Minn., man has been hospitalized after the plane he was piloting crashed this afternoon near Aitkin.
According to a press release from the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, the single-seat amateur-built fixed-wing aircraft was flying from Brainerd to Winsted, Minn., when it crashed in the ice of Round Lake north of Garrison, Minn., at 12:38 p.m.
Witnesses told investigators that it sounded like the aircraft was experiencing engine trouble and that it appeared the pilot tried to make an emergency landing.
The pilot was airlifted to a medical center. His identity and condition had not been released as of 4:30 p.m.
