The pilot of an ultralight airplane that crashed into Gull Lake on Saturday has been arrested on several alcohol-related charges in connection with the crash, the Cass County Sheriff's Department reported.
Jonathan Douglas Kurilla, 43, Brainerd, is being held in the Cass County Jail on criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm, second-degree driving while intoxicated and driving after license revocation.
Jonathan Kurilla
A decision on formal criminal charges is expected Tuesday, Cass County Attorney Christopher Strandlie said.
Kurilla was piloting the ultralight aircraft about 7:20 p.m. near Gull Point on the south end of Gull Lake in Cass County when the airplane crashed into the water.
Kurilla and a passenger, Estelle Paulson, 35, Nisswa, were pulled from the water by witnesses and taken ashore. Paulson was transported by North Ambulance to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, where she was treated and released.
A witness who saw the ultralight airplane flying Saturday told the Dispatch that airplane had made two passes near Ernie's on Gull Lake, both times flying very close to the water before pulling up near the restaurant.
Cass County Sheriff Randy Fisher said as of Monday morning the airplane remained in Gull Lake and it's Kurilla's responsibility to recover the airplane. Fisher said the cause of the crash is under investigation.
According to court records, Kurilla has served jail time on several alcohol-related charges in the past 20 years, including five days in 1990 in the Hennepin County Jail for driving with an alcohol content of .10 percent or more; 30 days in the Hennepin County Jail in 1992 for driving with an alcohol content of .10 percent or more; 120 days in 1995 in the Crow Wing County Jail for refusal to submit to alcohol testing; and a year in 2001 in the Crow Wing County Jail for first-degree refusal to test.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson @brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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