Cape Town – An elderly couple living a peaceful life in a Chicago suburb had a rather rude awakening earlier this week when a light aircraft crashed into their home.
Msnbc Chicago reports that Raymond and Roberta Rolinskas were wakened by a loud crash on Tuesday morning and found the remains of an Aero Commander 500 plane in their living room.
A neighbour of the Rolinskas told Chicago Tribune that he also woke to the sound of a loud crash and when he looked through the window almost did a double take at the sight of a plane’s tail sticking out of their home.
Despite being badly shaken by the incident, the octogenarians, who were in their bedroom at the time of the crash, were completely unscathed. The pilot, however, did not survive the accident.
Eric Quentin Howlett was the only person on board the cargo aircraft and had apparently been returning to Midway International Airport, from where he had taken off a short while before, at around 03:00 after reporting engine problems when the crash happened.
The Rolinskas home has been badly damaged, as the aircraft crashed right through their living room floor and into the basement.