Lloyd McKee and his wife Maureen survived when their aircraft (identified by the FAA as a Piper PA-32R but also by friends as a Beechcraft) crashed through the wall of a fitness club located in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, Wednesday at noon. The crash aircraft is reportedly not directly registered to either McKee, but to a Holdings Company in Delaware, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The two occupants had departed nearby Aero Estates for a trip to Pittsburgh. During the crash, the aircraft passed through a corner wall near the top of the roughly four-story building and then became lodged in that corner’s adjacent wall. When it came to rest, the aircraft was visible from outside of the building and was leaking fuel into the building. No one inside the building, which includes a day care center, was injured. The McKees survived with minor injuries, but were trapped in the aircraft.
The aircraft lost its left wing to the impact. The couple was eventually extricated by emergency personnel, while the wreckage remained suspended by the tower. Structural engineers brought to the scene after the crash determined that a portion of the building’s facade had to be removed before the aircraft could be moved. The McKee’s flight originated at Aero Estates, an airport homes community not far from the crash site. Aero Estates was closed Wednesday after the accident.
