By Andre Salles and Josh Larsen
Chicago Sun Times
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A pilot and his wife survived Wednesday when their private plane crashed into a fitness center in Naperville.
Lloyd McKee, 66, and his wife, Maureen, 63, of Naperville, were pinned in the Piper 32 aircraft after it crashed into the upper southwest corner of XSport Fitness.
They were extricated by rescue crews and taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Naperville Police said. They were conscious and alert when the rescuers arrived, police said.
Police Cmdr. Mike Anders said a 911 call reported the accident at 12:04 p.m. The single-engine plane crashed into the building’s top-level basketball court, which was not in use at the time.
More than 280 people were in the fitness center, Anders said. All were evacuated, and no one in the building was injured.
Cindy Munday, a trainer at the gym, said the crash sounded like an explosion: “Like someone dropped a bunch of weights and dumbbells.”
She ran toward the crash site and saw a huge hole and what she thought was water cascading from the roof.
Within seconds, she realized the clear liquid was aviation fuel.
“That’s when everyone started yelling and screaming, ‘Get out, get out!’ ” she said.
Naperville resident Ron Reimer, a member at XSport, was exercising when the plane hit. He said it sounded and felt like an earthquake was shaking the building.
Tasos Kalamaras, a Naperville resident and gym member, said he sees planes from the nearby Aero Estates subdivision’s private runway, which the the plane took off from, flying low over the fitness center all the time.
“I always hear those planes coming in so low, and I always think, “One day . . .’ ” he said.
The McKees live at Aero Estates, the subdivision built around a private airstrip, just south of the fitness center. Anders said they were on their way to Pittsburgh when they crashed.
Darryl Betler, who lives in Aero Estates and has been a pilot for five years, said Lloyd McKee is an experienced pilot.
Federal Aviation Administration officials had no comment.
Debbie Venezia, executive director of the Art League, said Maureen McKee teaches art classes for the league.
“We’re all saying prayers,” she said. “We’re keeping Maureen and Lloyd in our thoughts and praying for a speedy recovery.”
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