A helicopter made an emergency landing in a football field in suburban Hanover Park, Illinois, near Barrington Road and Route 19, at around 11:00 a.m. on August 23.
According to a Hanover Park Hurricanes youth football and cheerleading program spokesperson, the emergency landing was made due to engine failure.
The chopper landed safely and none of the 2 people aboard, including the pilot and a passenger, suffered any injuries.
The chopper, owned by Bachman Aero, landed minutes before a team of six-year-olds were about to start playing. According to the director of public relations for the Hanover Park Hurricanes Veronica Soto, “As the helicopter was coming down they had no control over it and they were trying to land on a grassy area…It was coming down regardless of anybody being on the field he would have hit…Had it been 20 minutes later our 73-pound team would be on the field so we’re talking 6-year-olds.”
Soto also said that the incident caused serious damage to the football field.