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UPDATED:
4 survive plane crash in Grant Twp.
#MasonCountyNews.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.
GRANT TOWNSHIP — Four people survived a single engine plane crash Sunday morning in northwestern Mason County. The crash occurred about 11:20 a.m. in a field in the 11400 block of North Morton Road, just south of the Mason-Manistee counties line.
The plane was piloted by a 39-year-old Caledonia man. He and his passengers, which included his 12-year-old son, 71-year-old father, and the pilot’s 12-year-old nephew, were able to get out of the plane that had landed on its roof.
Dep. Jeremy King said the four were flying from Hesel, in the Upper Peninsula to Hastings when the pilot realized he was having engine troubles with the 1964 Cessna 182G Skylan plane.
Sgt. Adam Lamb of the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, said the pilot had indicated he may have lost an engine cylinder.
Jim Thompson said he was out in his yard when he heard the plane circling nearby. At first, Thompson said he thought the pilot was practicing some maneuvers. “Then I heard a loud banging sound,” Thompson said. “He was heading north, back towards Manistee, then he came around in an arc towards the east. He then came out of the east and landed. I think he was trying to land on the road at first.”
The plane hit the west end of the paved road and then struck a ditch, causing it to flip over and come to a halt about 25 feet from the road.
“Everyone was strapped in,” Sgt. Lamb said. “The outcome here could have been a lot different but the pilot kept things under control.”
The occupants were each evaluated at the scene by EMS personnel. The 71-year-old passenger was transported by ambulance to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital where he was being treated for chest pain. Non of the other passengers complained of any injuries.
Thompson said he got on his ATV and drove the 100 yards over to the scene of the crash expecting the worst. “I was very thankful when I saw all four of them walking around” he said.
Responding to the scene were Mason County Sheriff’s Office personnel, Michigan Department of Natural Resources law enforcement, Grant Township Fire and Rescue, and Life EMS. Pere Marquette Township Fire Department’s arial truck was also dispatched to assist the sheriff’s office with documenting the scene.
Dep. King said the National Transportation Safety Board was being called to investigate.
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