Plane down near east side Detroit airport; woman hurt

A single-engine plane that crashed Monday night near Coleman A. Young International Airport on Detroit’s east side ran out of fuel, forcing the emergency landing near Interstate 94 and Gratiot, according to police.

The plane struck a utility pole at about 9 p.m. at Shoemaker and Cooper, bringing down power lines. A 45-year-old woman on the ground was electrocuted by a live wire and was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital in serious condition.

The 18-year-old male pilot suffered minor abrasions and was able to climb out of the plane.

The plane came to rest in the middle of a street in the residential area with its nose on the pavement, just beyond a stop sign. It missed some cars that were parked at the curb. There was no smoke or fire.

No one answered the phone at the airport late Monday. The facility at Conner and I-94 is formerly known as City Airport.

The plane had been trailing a banner over the crowds gathered Monday for the downtown fireworks and was returning to the airport when it went down, according to city spokesman John Roach. He didn’t know what happened to the banner.

Roach said the pilot was not taken into custody.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, according to police.

HFournier@detroitnews.com

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Twitter: @HollyPFournier