2021 Beaver Island Plane Crash Caused by Mistake
A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board says that a plane crash that killed 4 people and injured a then 11-year-old girl in 2021 was caused by a mistake from the pilot.
The report says that a pilot-rated witness saw the airplane during the final approach to the destination airport and said that the airplane was flying slowly, with a high pitch attitude, and was “wallowing” as if nobody was flying.
The airplane stalled and hit the ground about 300 ft from the runway.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings, and the National Transportation Safety Board says that no preimpact anomalies were found with respect to the airplane, engines, or systems.
The report adds that the pilot allowed the airspeed to decrease during the approach, increased pitch attitude, and exceeded the critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin into the terrain.
Michael Perdue of Gaylord, Kate Leese and Adam Kendall of Beaver Island, and the pilot, William Julian, were killed in the crash.
Perdue's daughter survived.