MINNESOTA – The pilot of a plane reported missing last Friday is dead.
The plane, a PA-28 Piper Cherokee, was discovered Tuesday southwest of Bemidji, Minn., by a private pilot. A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter and a CAP ground search team confirmed the find.
The Clearwater County Sheriff's Office announced that the pilot, Andrew Lindberg, died in the crash.
Over the course of four days, nearly 400 Civil Air Patrol members from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota wings, including ground team members and pilots, were involved in the search. They used 18 CAP aircraft to search for Lindberg, who was flying from Air Lake Airport to Hallock, Minn., Friday night. State and Department of Natural Resources helicopters also participated in the search.
The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., alerted CAP the aircraft was missing on Nov. 14. CAP air and ground crews from all parts of the Minnesota Wing joined CAP members from Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., in the search. The circumstances of the crash will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
CAP’s Minnesota Wing consists of 24 squadrons located in every area of the state, with more than 1,200 members and 19 light aircraft.
Minnesota Wing routinely flies thousands of hours per year of operational flights and contributes more than 10,000 person-hours to search and rescue, counter drug, disaster preparedness, homeland security and other humanitarian mission flying.
