Michigan crash takes two lives
December 5, 2011, 05:23 pm
A single-engine chartered plane recently crashed in northern Michigan, killing both passengers on board.
A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said the passengers were Thomas Phillilps, 52, and Joseph Pann Jr., 29. The two passengers had taken off from an airfield in the Upper Peninsula on their way to Mackinac Island in the Straits Mackinac, The Associated Press reported.
"The men departed St. Ignace en route to Mackinac Island that evening in a Piper Saratoga and were expected to arrive at about 8 p.m.," the Coast Guard said in a statement from its regional office in Cleveland. "The flight is only about 4.5 miles and should have taken only about six minutes."
However, a few hours after takeoff, the Michigan State Police 911 dispatcher contacted the search and rescue controllers at the Coast Guard about the missing plane. A family member had contacted the dispatcher when the passengers were not responding to phone calls, the source reported.
The wreckage was found on the Lake Huron shore, 3 miles north of St. Ignace. Crash investigators are still not sure what caused the the single-engine Piper to crash, as no distress call was reported, according to the AP. There are many factors that can lead to a malfunction in a plane. Therefore, pilot insurance is a wise investment in case something goes wrong on a flight.
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