Searchers heading toward plane wreckage in Clearwater County

Star Tribune

Last update: November 18, 2009 - 9:10 AM

Authorities in northwestern Minnesota headed out at first light today to examine plane wreckage that was spotted Tuesday afternoon in a remote, wooded area in Clearwater County.

The discovery came as volunteers searched Tuesday for Andrew Lindberg, a pilot from Farmington, whose plane vanished Friday as he headed to Hallock.

"We don't know the markings or anything. All we know is that we found a plane," Mahnomen County Sheriff Doug Krier said Tuesday night.

Maj. Al Pabom of the Civil Air Patrol's Minnesota Wing said he did not know about any find.

According to Krier, a private pilot from Walker, Minn., spotted something near the border with Mahnomen County, about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The pilot flew to Mahnomen, picked up the Sheriff's Office's chief deputy and they confirmed the presence of a tail fin, Krier said. By the time they returned to Mahnomen, it was dark, ruling out a closer search until this morning.

Lindberg, 32, earned his pilot's license a few months ago and was headed to Hallock to go deer hunting. He left Airlake Airport near Lakeville about 5 p.m. for the 400-mile flight, scheduled to arrive at 8 p.m.

VINCE TUSS

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