A northern Minnesota man disappeared while flying a personal aircraft this weekend, prompting an ongoing search.

Denny Pechacek of Hovland was reported missing to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. According to a news release, he took off in his flying machine — an ultralight aircraft known as a “powered parachute” — from the area of 30 Flutereed Rd.

A Facebook post from a family member says Pechacek “should have landed around 715” that evening but failed to appear.

The Cook County sheriff says the last sighting of the craft was in the area of Hammer Road in Hovland. The search includes the efforts of multiple agencies, including the Minnesota State Patrol and its fixed-wing aircraft.

Authorities are asking anyone who might have seen Pechacek and his machine to call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 218-387-3030, and “give an approximate location and time to provide better details to the search teams.”

Pechacek was profiled by local outdoor site Northern Wilds in 2020. “If you love flying, you dream about it,” he told the website.

The publication notes that one drawback of the machine — the use of which does not require a pilot’s license or special certification — is that calm skies are needed for a flight, with winds greater than 8 mph making “forward progress” difficult.

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