Two single-engine planes collided at an altitude of 12,000 feet above Superior, Wisconsin, Saturday. One plane crashed into the ground, while the other went into a dive. The pilot managed to regain control and make an emergency landing. The nine passengers of the two planes were all skydivers, and parachuted to the ground. Mike Robinson was one of the skydivers aboard the crashed plane.
The pilot had on an emergency parachute and was able to get out of the plummeting fuselage, although he suffered cuts to his hands and face, Robinson said. NBC station KJBR of Superior reported that he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, but Robinson said he did not seem too badly injured.
The other aircraft, a Cessna 185 with five jumpers and a pilot on board, went into a steep dive, Robinson said. Three jumpers had been on the step on the aircraft's exterior, and two were able to jump immediately, but the third was pinned to the outside, he said. Eventually that person was able to leap, and two others inside also jumped. The pilot was able to pull out of the dive after losing several thousand feet, then landed that aircraft, although it suffered damage, Robinson said.
“The outcome for us was as good as it could be,” he said.