Pilot Rescued After Fan-Powered Parachute Aircraft Crashes Into Tree

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A pilot needed to be rescued after crashing his fan-powered parachute-style aircraft into a tree – leaving him and the aircraft suspended about 50 feet up in the air.

According to the Benton County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded Wednesday to the report of an aircraft accident in Minden Township.

The pilot, a 71-year-old Sauk Rapids man and licensed pilot, took off from his private property, but didn't gain enough altitude to avoid collision with the tree.

When authorities arrived, the pilot, identified as Roger Violet, was still in the aircraft and was able to speak with authorities. The Sauk Rapids Fire Department responded and assisted getting Violet out of the aircraft.

Violet suffered non-life threatening wounds and was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital for treatment.