Published in the Chicago Tribune (IL) on Aug. 7, 1983:
PILOT DIES IN CRASH ON GOLF COURSE
A suburban Glendale Heights man was killed Saturday when he lost control of his small plane while landing and crashed into a golf course in LaSalle County, authorities said. The pilot was identified as Dennis Couch, 36; the plane crashed while he was trying to land on an airstrip at the Prairie Lake Lodge near Marseilles. Herb Klein, chief investigator of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department, said four parachutists had been in the plane but had jumped before the pilot prepared to land. The plane hit a large tree, bounced twice, and skidded more than 400 feet before bursting into flames on the fairway of the golf course, Klein said. Volunteers from the Marseilles Fire Department extinguished the fire and found Couch still fastened in the plane's cockpit, Klein said. The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Published in the Times (Streator, IL) on Aug. 8, 1983:
Dennis J. Couch, 36, Glendale Heights, Ill., died as the result of a plane crash at Prairie Lake Lodge in Miller Township, at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
Mr. Couch was the pilot of a single-engine plane. He had taken the plane up to 9,000 feet, dropped off four parachutists, and was descending in a routine spiral formation. One witness said the plane had dropped to about 1,000 feet from the ground when it appeared that the spirals were tighter.
As the plane neared the ground, it was traveling northwesterly toward the lodge. The witness said the plane made a 90-degree turn and went into a stall, then hitting a 20-foot-tall evergreen tree. The plane burst into flames.
The total distance from the tree to the final point of travel, according to the coroner's office, was 409 feet.
The Marseilles Fire Department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. Also on the scene were representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. An autopsy performed revealed that Couch died of injuries sustained in the plane crash. The body was taken to Roselle, Ill. for funeral arrangements. An inquest is pending.
PILOT DIES IN CRASH ON GOLF COURSE
A suburban Glendale Heights man was killed Saturday when he lost control of his small plane while landing and crashed into a golf course in LaSalle County, authorities said. The pilot was identified as Dennis Couch, 36; the plane crashed while he was trying to land on an airstrip at the Prairie Lake Lodge near Marseilles. Herb Klein, chief investigator of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department, said four parachutists had been in the plane but had jumped before the pilot prepared to land. The plane hit a large tree, bounced twice, and skidded more than 400 feet before bursting into flames on the fairway of the golf course, Klein said. Volunteers from the Marseilles Fire Department extinguished the fire and found Couch still fastened in the plane's cockpit, Klein said. The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Published in the Times (Streator, IL) on Aug. 8, 1983:
Dennis J. Couch, 36, Glendale Heights, Ill., died as the result of a plane crash at Prairie Lake Lodge in Miller Township, at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
Mr. Couch was the pilot of a single-engine plane. He had taken the plane up to 9,000 feet, dropped off four parachutists, and was descending in a routine spiral formation. One witness said the plane had dropped to about 1,000 feet from the ground when it appeared that the spirals were tighter.
As the plane neared the ground, it was traveling northwesterly toward the lodge. The witness said the plane made a 90-degree turn and went into a stall, then hitting a 20-foot-tall evergreen tree. The plane burst into flames.
The total distance from the tree to the final point of travel, according to the coroner's office, was 409 feet.
The Marseilles Fire Department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. Also on the scene were representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. An autopsy performed revealed that Couch died of injuries sustained in the plane crash. The body was taken to Roselle, Ill. for funeral arrangements. An inquest is pending.
Published in the Chicago Tribune (IL) on Aug. 7, 1983:
PILOT DIES IN CRASH ON GOLF COURSE
A suburban Glendale Heights man was killed Saturday when he lost control of his small plane while landing and crashed into a golf course in LaSalle County, authorities said. The pilot was identified as Dennis Couch, 36; the plane crashed while he was trying to land on an airstrip at the Prairie Lake Lodge near Marseilles. Herb Klein, chief investigator of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department, said four parachutists had been in the plane but had jumped before the pilot prepared to land. The plane hit a large tree, bounced twice, and skidded more than 400 feet before bursting into flames on the fairway of the golf course, Klein said. Volunteers from the Marseilles Fire Department extinguished the fire and found Couch still fastened in the plane's cockpit, Klein said. The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Published in the Times (Streator, IL) on Aug. 8, 1983:
Dennis J. Couch, 36, Glendale Heights, Ill., died as the result of a plane crash at Prairie Lake Lodge in Miller Township, at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
Mr. Couch was the pilot of a single-engine plane. He had taken the plane up to 9,000 feet, dropped off four parachutists, and was descending in a routine spiral formation. One witness said the plane had dropped to about 1,000 feet from the ground when it appeared that the spirals were tighter.
As the plane neared the ground, it was traveling northwesterly toward the lodge. The witness said the plane made a 90-degree turn and went into a stall, then hitting a 20-foot-tall evergreen tree. The plane burst into flames.
The total distance from the tree to the final point of travel, according to the coroner's office, was 409 feet.
The Marseilles Fire Department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. Also on the scene were representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. An autopsy performed revealed that Couch died of injuries sustained in the plane crash. The body was taken to Roselle, Ill. for funeral arrangements. An inquest is pending.
PILOT DIES IN CRASH ON GOLF COURSE
A suburban Glendale Heights man was killed Saturday when he lost control of his small plane while landing and crashed into a golf course in LaSalle County, authorities said. The pilot was identified as Dennis Couch, 36; the plane crashed while he was trying to land on an airstrip at the Prairie Lake Lodge near Marseilles. Herb Klein, chief investigator of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department, said four parachutists had been in the plane but had jumped before the pilot prepared to land. The plane hit a large tree, bounced twice, and skidded more than 400 feet before bursting into flames on the fairway of the golf course, Klein said. Volunteers from the Marseilles Fire Department extinguished the fire and found Couch still fastened in the plane's cockpit, Klein said. The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Published in the Times (Streator, IL) on Aug. 8, 1983:
Dennis J. Couch, 36, Glendale Heights, Ill., died as the result of a plane crash at Prairie Lake Lodge in Miller Township, at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
Mr. Couch was the pilot of a single-engine plane. He had taken the plane up to 9,000 feet, dropped off four parachutists, and was descending in a routine spiral formation. One witness said the plane had dropped to about 1,000 feet from the ground when it appeared that the spirals were tighter.
As the plane neared the ground, it was traveling northwesterly toward the lodge. The witness said the plane made a 90-degree turn and went into a stall, then hitting a 20-foot-tall evergreen tree. The plane burst into flames.
The total distance from the tree to the final point of travel, according to the coroner's office, was 409 feet.
The Marseilles Fire Department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. Also on the scene were representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. An autopsy performed revealed that Couch died of injuries sustained in the plane crash. The body was taken to Roselle, Ill. for funeral arrangements. An inquest is pending.
Gravesite Details
He was interred on Aug. 9, 1983.
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