Pilot, passenger escape plane crash on Maine lake

RANGELEY, Maine – Law enforcement officials say two men escaped serious injury when a float plane crashed into Rangeley Lake.

Video showed the plane attempting to take off and then losing altitude and splashing into the water on Thursday. The plane came to a rest upside down but the pilot and passenger freed themselves and swam to shore.

The Maine Department of Public Safety says the pilot, 69-year-old David Taisey, of Pownal, and his passenger, 53-year-old Mike Koob, of Oquossoc, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

State police and the warden service responded to the scene, near the town landing in the town of Rangeley. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause of the crash.