WALKER, Minn. — A 56-year-old Texas man was injured Tuesday after the wildfire-suppression plane he was flying crashed into Inguadona Lake in northern Minnesota’s Cass County.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash at 2:08 p.m. at the southern end of Inguadona Lake in Trelipe Township, near Remer.

According to the sheriff’s office, the airplane is a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources-contracted fire suppression aircraft that was completing a proficiency flight when it crashed into the lake. Proficiency flights are completed routinely to meet minimum flight hours each month.

Several witnesses were able to rescue and retrieve the pilot from the wreckage. The pilot was treated at the scene for minor injuries. The name of the pilot was not released by the sheriff’s office. Recovery efforts to retrieve the aircraft and components are ongoing, the sheriff’s office reported.

The incident remains under investigation with the assistance of the DNR, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

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