Pilot lands in farm field while having heart attack

A 65-year-old airplane pilot is in the hospital after he completed an emergency landing in a farm field in Hebron while he was having a heart attack Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Steven R. Nusbaum was flying an experimental aircraft and landed near the 7000 block of Miller Road while his son, Chance A. Nusbaum, was watching and monitoring the flight, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff's office.

Emergency responders got a call at about 5:30 p.m. about someone in cardiac arrest, and didn't realize the person was in a plane until they arrived on the scene, Hebron Alden Greenwood Fire Protection District Cpt. Tom Linneman said. Nusbaum lives in Hebron, near the site of the landing, Linneman said.

Deputy Chief Lloyd Laufer and a retired paramedic administered CPR, and also used an automated external defibrillator to shock Nusbaum twice, authorities said.

Chance Nusbaum said his father was in surgery Wednesday afternoon at Centegra Hospital in McHenry and his condition was “touch and go.” Nusbaum was listed in critical but stable condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The plane sustained no apparent damage. Nusbaum's son was the first to approach the plane and found his father lying back in the seat.

The FAA was notified of the incident, the release said.