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UPDATE: Rhinelander Airport Reopens After Plane Flips, Injures Pilot

Ben Meyer/WXPR

A mistake on landing led a cargo plane to flip over at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport Thursday morning, injuring the pilot and closing the airport.

The incident happened at 8:15 a.m. as the plane was arriving in Rhinelander on its flight from Milwaukee.

“It was CSA Air, a Cessna 208 Caravan, one occupant,” said Airport Director Matthew Leitner.  “Our airport rescue and firefighting responded initially, then that was augmented by the Rhinelander Fire Department and the Rhinelander Police Department.”

The pilot was taken to a local hospital.  There’s no update on his or her condition.

The airport remained locked down and closed to air traffic until mid-afternoon, when the Federal Aviation Administration completed its on-site inspection.

The plane was operated by Kingsford, Michigan-based CSA Air.

“They’re a carrier on contract with FedEx.  They operate FedEx freight services into and out of Rhinelander,” Leitner said.

All runways except one are open again.  Delta anticipated its passenger flights would return to schedule Thursday night.

Leitner said FedEx plans to retrieve the plane from near the runway on Friday.

He couldn’t comment on a possible cause for the incident.

Heavy snow blanketed the Rhinelander area much of Thursday morning.

Ben worked as the Special Topics Correspondent at WXPR from September 2019 until November 2021. He now contributes occasionally to WXPR. During his full-time employment, his main focus was reporting on environment and natural resources issues in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of The Stream, a weekly series.
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