CARY – A small plane made an emergency landing Wednesday in a field that is part of Lyons Prairie and Marsh near Cary

The single-engined Beaver bush plane landed in dried-out marsh alongside Hickory Nut Grove Road near Three Oaks Road outside Cary shortly after 4:45 p.m., according to McHenry County Conservation District officials and witnesses who live nearby.

Authorities responded to scene after hearing that the pilot needed to make an emergency landing because the plane's engine had failed, said Wendy Kummerer, a spokeswoman for the McHenry County Conservation District.

Pilot Douglas Nealey, of Barrington, told MCCD officials that he was headed to DuPage Airport when the engine cut out. He saw the open field and was able to safely land the plane, Kummerer said.

The plane left a 70-foot trail of debris in the bed of the marsh, but it appeared intact.

Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were expected to arrive Thursday.

"He was very fortunate," Kummerer said. "We're just happy he's safe."