Pilot who crashed at Louisiana McDonald’s had reported problem

A 41-year-old pilot seriously injured Tuesday when he crashed his small plane in a McDonald’s parking lot in Louisiana had reported a problem with his fuel shortly before the accident, authorities said.

Michael Ray Martin was piloting a single-engine bonanza aircraft around 10:40 a.m. when it crash-landed in a restaurant parking lot in the 8000 block of Desiard Street in Monroe, according to a statement released by the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office. The city of about 50,000 residents is in the state’s northeast.

Martin, of Calhoun, La., was airlifted to Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport with “serious injuries,” according to Maj. Mike Moore.

Lynn Lunford, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said Martin reported a problem with the plane’s fuel shortly before crashing, and the aircraft “clipped some trees” before it fell into the parking lot.

No one else was hurt in the crash and Martin was the lone occupant of the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board was notified of the crash and will investigate alongside the FAA, Lunford said.

The plane, described as a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, was registered to WFO Flying Service in Carmi, Ill., according to federal records.

The crash occurred less than two miles from Monroe Regional Airport, but law enforcement officials did not say where the plane took off from or where it was headed. Calls to airport officials seeking comment were not immediately returned.

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