Plane crashes near EAA AirVenture

A plane crashed at the Oshkosh Airport this morning, carrying five passengers. 

At approximately 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, a six-seat Piper Malibu aircraft (N4BP) was landing on the east end of Runway 9/27 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There were five people aboard the aircraft.

At the time of landing, the airplane crashed on the runway.

Oshkosh Fire Department extracted the fifth person on board. 

That person was transported via medevac helicopter to an area hospital.

The aircraft was piloted by 46-year-old Kenneth J. Kaminski of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Also aboard the airplane were three other Michigan residents: 71-year-old Gerald T. Kaminski, 30-year-old Margaret C. Laing, and 26-year-old Nathan P. Gargano, as well as 56-year-old Neil F. Dill. 

The NTSB is leading the investigation into the accident.

The accident closed Wittman Regional Airport for approximately 2½ hours. The north/south Runway 18/36 reopened shortly after 10:30 a.m., while the east/west Runway 9/27 reopened approximately 45 minutes later. All EAA AirVenture operations have returned to normal. 

Over the course of the week long event, about 5,000 private planes will land.

Add to that all of the aircraft pulling off stunts and tricks, it makes for the busiest air control tower in the country.

 Air show officials say it could be a constant recipe for disaster and yet it's anything but.

\"Making all this work is really an impressive piece of coordination and choreography,\" said Dick Knapinski, EAA spokesman. \"The FAA works with it. It's an all-star crew. More than 50 air traffic controllers work this event. They are chosen by their supervisors as the best ones to come work the event.\"