Two University of Dubuque students are hospitalized after the school plane they were flying crashed Wednesday in Wisconsin. Vice president for university relations, Peter Smith, says the students involved were juniors Cory Alsip of Glendale Heights, Illinois and Grant Vogt of Dubuque.
Smith says they’re unclear as to what exactly happened, but it appears from eyewitness accounts that the university’s Trinidad airplane experienced a "catastrophic incident" as the aircraft was making a landing approach at the Cassville, Wisconsin airport.
Smith says the two students were getting flight time in the airplane, but he’s not exactly sure what that involved. He says they were able to bring the aircraft down and through a parking lot and then hit two cabins that are along the runway.
The plane caught fire and both students were able to escape the plane as it was engulfed in flames. Both students suffered burns and are hospitalized in serious condition. Smith says federal investigators will have to determine what caused the crash.
Smith says the plane is one of two Tinidad aircraft and there are not concerns at this point about the airworthiness of the remaining plane. Smith says the accident is tough for the small campus.
Smith says any kind of incident like this hits the community very hard, but the schools tradition in joy and sorrow is for people to reach out to each other and gather together — usually around prayer. The school is holding a university-wide prayer service today at noon in the Blades Chapel on campus.