Plane makes emergency landing on Joliet golf course

A single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing in Joliet late Thursday afternoon.

The plane landed on the edge of the Inwood Golf Course and within putting distance of McDonough Street at about 5:14 p.m.

The pilot stopped the plane short of both McDonough Street during a peak traffic time and utility wires that line the street while avoiding trees on the golf course.

The only damage was to a chain-link fence that separates the 12th hole of the golf course and adjoining property of Joliet Township Animal Control.

“He did a great job,” Joliet Park District Executive Director Brad Staab said of the pilot’s emergency landing.

The pilot declined to discuss the situation.

Joliet police responded to the area near the intersection of 129th Infantry Drive after getting a report of a possible downed aircraft.

The plane was a single-engine Piper PA-18 Super Cub aircraft, police said.

Officers found the 21-year-old male pilot outside of the aircraft uninjured, and no injuries were reported on the ground, police said.

The pilot told police that the aircraft’s engine began to fail mid-flight, prompting him to make the emergency landing.

The plane was towing a promotional banner during the flight, and the banner was released from the aircraft before the landing, police said. It was safely recovered in the 2600 block of West Jefferson Street, police said.

The pilot landed the plane on the edge of the 12 hole of the golf course in an area near a sand trap but some distance from the fairway and green.

Staab said he did not think there were any golfers playing the hole at the time of the landing.

“The pilot did a great job handling the incident, and we’re just happy no one was hurt,” Staab said.

Staab was on the scene monitoring the situation at the park district golf course.

A safety inspector with Federal Aviation Administration also was at the scene of the landing Thursday evening.

Aviation Safety Inspector Beau Klingbeil said he could not comment on the incident.

Judy Harvey contributed to this story.