What do you do when your son is late to a tennis tuneup and team tryouts are two days away? A Lake Villa man hopped in his Piper Clipper airplane Saturday, breezed above the congested roads and landed at a golf course across a highway from the tennis club, where skis on the underside of his four-seater glided across the snow-covered fairway. Police received worried calls about a plane circling twice, then touching down at the Crane’s Landing golf course at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort. Officials thought they might have a crash, with victims to attend to. Instead, they found Robert Kadera, 65, and his 14-year-old son trudging through the snow, Prince racket and a bag of tennis balls in hand. They had parked on the 7th fairway, just 20 feet south of the retaining wall for Illinois Highway 22. “We’re all pretty dumbfounded,” Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin said Monday. “I don’t have any idea what the guy was thinking. ….. He was going to park his plane across the street like nobody would notice.”
Kadera said he didn’t want to discuss the particulars of what happened because of potential charges against him. His son, Isaac, a sophomore at Carmel High School in Mundelein, was on his way Monday afternoon to try out for the junior-varsity tennis team.
I’ve heard of soccer moms, but this is ludicrous.
This guy is going to get one hell of a parking ticket.
I would like to here the rest of the story. I was it he became late to begin with?? If it was that important how come better arrangements were not made? This guys flying license should be suspended or revoked for such a stunt. This was not a emergency!
What dumbfounded me is that a 65 year old has a 14 year old son.
I love it. They don’t even know if there’s any law he’s broken, other than ‘tresspassing’ maybe and they’ve seized and transported his aircraft.
Now they’re going to have to make something up to justify their fascist actions. It’s still the Land of the Free, right?
“I’ve heard of soccer moms, but this is ludicrous.”
Why? They didn’t harm anyone. Why the animosity?
Or, is it jealousy?
OMG something unusual happened. Call the police, they will arrest it and then I am safe again.
And it couldn’t be criminal trespass, either. Probably some trumped up charge on public endangerment or, some BS.
So what if a 65-year old has a 14 year old kid? None of your damned business that he has a hot young wife unlike most of the mopes who show up here.
I would like to see the charges the police come up with. There might be something with the FAA but hey, how many bush pilots land in the snow.
They’ll probably drop the plane off at an airport and charge him a big tab for the tow.
#8. Landing a plane on private property maybe?
You have to stay 500′ from any person, plane, or structure in non-congested areas — 1000′ in congested areas.
Landings are typically excluded from that or when under the control of ATC or when conducting business that requires its (like crop dusting).
As this wasn’t a recognized landing strip, they could probably get him on that.
Otherwise, it’s just tresspassing.
Interestingly, there is no law requiring you to land on a recognized runway. You just have to stay 500′ from any person, plane, or structure in non-congested areas (or 1000′ in congested areas).
The only thing they can get him for is for landing on private property, but only if the owner decided to press charges. He didn’t hurt or endanger anyone.
He’s a trailblazer- he’s helping us to think it normal for small craft to land here and there- so in the near future we can all have our personal flying cars.
Forget about landing a float plane on Lake Fork in east TX to go fishin’. On a Spring weekend, I think you can just walk across the lake by stepping from boat to boat.
Lake Texoma N of DFW (one of the largest man-made lakes) is a different story. I’ll bet the Spruce Goose could take off and land there, no problem.
But a golf course on skis, non-emergency? The FAA may pull this guy’s ticket.
Sometimes you have to lighten up!
No this isn’t the America where we grew up – everyone is minding everyone else’s business in the name of Homeland Security. and we all feel safer. don’t we?
Did he hurt anyone? Trespass? who complained?
dumb? probably. but if they send you to jail for that, we all have some real problems.
#4 “Land of the Free” you were close Try “Land of the FEE”
Who characterized it as an emergency landing? I mean, just because the guy didn’t land in a certified airfield, that makes it an emergency landing? I don’t think so…
#13, Bubba,
I defer to your expertise on this BUT I don’t understand.
What is wrong (illegal) for him landing on a golf course? About two miles from me a farmer has his own runway right between a corn field and his house. There is also a municipal airport about three or four miles from him. What would be the difference between landing on this guy’s runway instead of the municipal airport as far as the FAA is concerned?
As far as trespassing, that would be up to the golf course to press charges.
This is a true story, my personal experience.
When I lived in Calif, I would visit friends in Riverside County. Nearly every night I was there I would hear this ultra-light fly right overhead. I finally asked about it and a buddy told me it was this guy a few miles away that flew his plane every morning and night between his home and a garage he rented on a patch of scrub near the freeway. He would fly to the Garage, exchange his plane for his car, go to work, and visa versa on the way home.
Saved him nearly an hour round trip every day he could fly, which in the desert was quite a lot!
#17, In a non-emergency situation, landing on an unknown field covered with snow deep enough for skis isn’t very bright. A golf course fairway isn’t guaranteed to be a safe landing surface and may well have surface defects or hidden obstacles (evil groundskeepers!) that could damage a light craft.
He placed himself and his passenger in danger by landing there. He’ll probably just get a lecture and a short ticket suspension.
I’ve landed in fields in a taildragger equipped for rough surfaces with the permission of the land owner, who “drove” the field just prior to my approach, and even then it was always a butt-numbing experience. Never hurt the plane, but it sure freaked out the passenger. 🙂
The friend who was left hanging was my nephew. My brother and nephew waited about half an hour for the kid to show up for their planned match then left. As they were leaving, they noticed all the police cars across the street but had no clue that was the reason that Isaac didn’t make the match.
Not a real smart move by dad but the kid has been the center of attention at school this week. BTW – he made the team.
This used to be a free country. Until people started feeling the need to have everyone tell them what to do and when to do it. This pilots only crime was not getting permission to land on private property. GROW UP ! Stop acting like the sky is always falling and paranoia that goes with it.
Next time he should do what everybody else does, and parachute down to his tennis match.