Canton Man, 72, Crashes Plane Into Trees, Walks Away Unharmed: Police

GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP, MI — A Canton man was lucky to avoid injury after crashing his plane Monday in Livingston County, according to police.

The 72-year-old man told officials he was trying to land the plane at a small private airfield near Rushton and 8 Mile roads in Green Oak Township at 1 p.m. when a gust of wind caused him to tip a little to the left, according to police.

The wing of the plane then caught a tree limb, cartwheeling the plane into a forest of trees, according to police.

The man, who was the pilot and the only person inside the plane, then climbed down the trees, which the plane was stuck in, and made it to the ground on his own, according to police.

He was not injured in the crash, according to police.

Green Oak Township Police Sgt. Alicia Montes told Hometown Life officials found the small single engine Piper Cub plane trapped in the trees with heavy damage to a wing and propeller, but without any fuel leakage.

"He’s lucky he landed the way he did," Montes told the outlet. "A couple feet in either direction and it could have been a different scenario."

Officials did not identify the Canton man.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.