Small Plane Lands Through Thin Ice Of Upper Red Lake
BELTRAMI COUNTY, Minn. – Unstable ice is to blame for another water emergency on the Upper Red Lake in Beltrami County – this time involving a small plane.
A Cessna 172 Sky Hawk broke through the ice upon landing Tuesday morning. 
The two occupants were able to make it out of the plane with the help of a nearby “boat and water deputy,” according to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said the pilot left Grand Rapids, Minnesota for a day of ice fishing on the Upper Red Lake.
The pilot did a flyover to secure what was believed to be a safe area to land. The lack of snow made it difficult for the plane to slow down, which sent it into an area of thin ice — one to two inches thick.
The nose of the plane broke through the ice and into open water. The two occupants were not injured, other than getting wet from the waist down.
The pilot has made arrangements to extricate the plane, according the Sheriff’s Office.
The emergency comes after 35 anglers were rescued Sunday night from the Upper Red Lake when the ice they were on broke away from the shoreline. Nobody was injured in that incident.
