Skydive Milwaukee jumpers parachute to save plane crash victims
Skydive Milwaukee jumpers leaped from their aircraft on Sunday, September 27, 2026, to rescue four people after a single-engine plane crashed into a rural cornfield near East Troy Municipal Airport in Wisconsin. All four occupants survived the impact, with three transported to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and one evaluated on site.
The three experienced jumpers were aboard a Cessna Caravan preparing for a routine drop when they saw the Beechcraft 35-A33 Debonair bank slightly and abruptly disappear behind a tree line at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time. Veteran skydiver John Bechtel, who has three decades of jump experience, recalled that the crew immediately alerted air traffic controllers and asked their pilot to locate a secure drop zone directly over the crash site.
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Jumpers coordinate emergency landing over East Troy cornfield
Air traffic controllers granted clearance for the jump, leaving the final decision to the pilot in command. The skydivers touched down in the isolated field near Carver School Road and Lawlor Road, south of the airport, reaching the wreckage ahead of ground crews because road access was heavily restricted.
One of the jumpers, a former paramedic, immediately administered medical treatment to an occupant who sustained a severe head injury until local emergency personnel reached the wreckage. Skydive Milwaukee confirmed in an official statement that trained emergency medical technicians were aboard the flight and leaped into action because the rural crash location, situated roughly 36 miles southwest of Milwaukee in Walworth County, was difficult to access by road.
Key details of the East Troy aircraft incident
- Location: Cornfield near Carver School Road and Lawlor Road, East Troy, Wisconsin
- Date and time: Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. local time
- Aircraft involved: Beechcraft 35-A33 Debonair and Skydive Milwaukee Cessna Caravan
- Casualties: Four survivors, including three hospitalized and one treated on site
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The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations into the cause of the crash. Authorities have not yet released the identities of the four aircraft occupants.
