RACINE COUNTY — The proposed flying suspension for the Racine-area pilot who crashed his plane on Interstate 94 last October has been reduced, according to information provided Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration.
After a meeting with the agency, both sides have agreed to reduce the suspension of Keith George’s commercial pilot certificate from a proposed 180 days to 60 days, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory.
On Oct. 22 of last year, during a return trip from Michigan with his girlfriend, the Beech B90 airplane piloted by George overshot the first part of the runway at Yorkville’s Sylvania Airport, continuing across a ditch and onto the Interstate, according to the FAA report.
An investigation by the agency determined that weather conditions during the flight, including heavy rain and low visibility, would have required instruments with which the particular airplane was not equipped.
People are also reading…
Several witnesses in the area during the time also reported conditions that were not above minimum standards for a plane like the one flown by George, including a captain from American Airlines who was flying from New York to Chicago at the time and remembered a brief discussion with a co-pilot about why a plane like George’s would be flying through the weather conditions at the time.
Following an investigation, the FAA sent a letter to George alleging that he violated four separate agency regulations, in part by flying in a careless or reckless manner, and proposed suspending his commercial pilot certificate for 180 days.
George, however, opted to challenge the agency’s proposed suspension and requested an informal conference on the case through a letter sent to the FAA by his attorney.
The conferences are relatively common and allow pilots the opportunity to sit down with their legal representation and an attorney from the agency to talk about the facts of the case, according to Cory.
As a result of the meeting, George and the agency agreed on a 60-day suspension of his pilot certificate that went into effect on Aug. 1, according to Cory.
George had previously deferred questions to his attorney Russel Klingaman, but Klingaman could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
In previous statements made to investigators, George maintained that weather conditions were clear enough when the plane left Michigan and remained above minimum requirements during the entire flight and wrote that, “approach and touchdown were normal maybe a little long but within the first third of the runway.”
In media reports as recently as 2011, George has been referred to as owner of Skydive Midwest, located at 13851 56th Road at Sylvania Airport. On the night of the crash, however, George was reportedly returning from Michigan with his girlfriend where they had traveled to consider purchasing a dog.
In a January letter to the FAA, George wrote, “I want to let you know that I am a conscientious pilot who understands that flying is a privilege which must be taken seriously.”

