The recovery of this 1960 Cessna 182 took about six hours on Saturday, August 27. The plane flipped over during takeoff from the east end of Devil Track Lake, resulting in substantial damage to the plane, but no injuries to the pilot, Mike Raymond, or three passengers.
A floatplane taking off from Devil Track Lake flipped over on the east end of the lake on Saturday, August 27, resulting in substantial damage to the plane, but no injuries to the pilot or three passengers.
The plane, a 1960 Cessna 182 fixed wing single-engine owned by Dan Anderson of Grand Marais was piloted by Mike Raymond of Grand Marais.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Darin Fagerman made the emergency 911 call reporting a plane crash but he did not see the accident. Fagerman said he and his wife, Jennifer Fagerman, were driving on Devil Track Road when they were flagged down by a man saying he believed a plane had crashed. Cook County Law Enforcement paged emergency responders and contacted the U.S. Forest Service, which launched a beaver airplane to help locate the plan.
The Fagermans drove to Devil Track Resort and borrowed a boat. When they arrived at the small bay on the east end of Devil Track Lake they saw the plane’s floats sticking up out of the water. They also saw the plane’s occupants waving to them from a nearby dock, apparently having suffered only very minor injuries. CO Fagerman let Cook County know that the plane’s occupants were safe on shore and all assistance was cancelled.
Cook County Airport Manager Rod Roy declined comment on the cause of the accident, but he confirmed that there had been an accident and he had assisted with recovery of the plane, which took about six hours. Roy said, “The plane still floated and we were able to take it back to the seaplane dock just like any other floatplane—except that it was damaged.”
Asked if any fuel had leaked from the plane, Roy said no. “We were amazed that there was no fuel loss and didn’t want to take any chances. That is why we wanted to get the plane back to the hangar as soon as possible.”
Contacted by phone, Dan Anderson said the National Traffic Safety Board had been notified and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was investigating. He said neither he nor pilot Mike Raymond can talk about the incident until the investigation is complete.
The FAA report filing states only that “an aircraft on floats flipped over.” According to the FAA website, a final report on the accident should be available in about three weeks.
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