Plane Was Circling To Land After Takeoff

Investigators are working to determine why a Piper PA-28-140 crashed shortly after takeoff Monday from Stevens Point Municipal Airport (STE) in Wisconsin.

The Associated Press reports Dean McGinn, 56, and an unidentified 70-year-old passenger were killed when the aircraft went down at approximately 1700 CDT. The aircraft had just taken off from STE, and was circling to land due to an unknown problem, McGinn's son Tony told investigators.

The pilot did not signal any problems ahead of the crash, said Stevens Point Police Lt. Brian Kudronowicz. "There was nothing to indicate anything was wrong other than the fact the plane basically fell out of the sky," he said.

McGinn learned to fly in the late 1970s during a stint in the Navy, Tony McGinn said, and was a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol. He purchased the 1971 Piper (type shown above) two years ago.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 1813T        Make/Model: PA28      Description: PA-28 CHEROKEE, ARROW, WARRIOR, ACHER, D
  Date: 05/12/2008     Time: 2230

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: STEVENS POINT   State: WI   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED AFTER DEPARTING STEVENS POINT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, STEVENS
  POINT, WI

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   1
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: KSTE 122235Z AUTO 12010G14KT 10SM CLR 17/00 A2991

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Climb      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: MILWAUKEE, WI  (GL13)                 Entry date: 05/13/2008

FMI: www.faa.gov