Plane down in Lake Huron

[Maverick]

I went out to the airport today (PHN) to put a new belt on my PowerTow. After doing that I decided to go fly a bit so I pulled the airplane out, started the engine and taxied to Runway 4 for take off. As I was doing my preflight checklist, I heard MayDay MayDay MayDay Navaho something something Romeo and then nothing. I thought I recognized the voice of the pilot, a man who has a charter operation based at my airport. At first I was afraid to take the runway in case he was making an emergency landing but I saw no one in the vicinity of the airport. I tried to call him and so did the local FBO but there was no response. Finally after waiting several minutes I took the runway and departed. I immediately started looking around the area for any sign of a downed aircraft but saw nothing. A little later I heard another pilot call Selfridge approach to tell them he could see an aircraft in shallow water near the shore of Lake Huron just north of the mouth of the Saint Clair River. I told Selfridge approach about the MayDay I heard but that there was no other information.

Anyway, I later found out that he was carrying six passengers back from somewhere when he went down in the lake. I don't know the cause yet or an other details but everyone is OK. They all got out and were taken to a local hospital to be checked out. If I had thought to go fly over the lake maybe I could have found them a bit sooner but there were boats in the area who must have seen them go down. The other airplane that was circling the site said the downed aircraft was surrounded by boats.

Interesting day to say the least. I'm just glad everyone is OK.

Jeannie

 

[TangoWhiskey]

Wow. That always "freaks me out" a bit when I hear a Mayday or other emergency situation on the radio. As you said, glad to hear everyone is okay...

Do you recognize the pilot's name in the story below?

6/26/2005, 6:29 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

FORT GRATIOT, Mich. (AP) — A twin-engine plane with a pilot and five passengers aboard crashed into Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon after experiencing engine problems, authorities say.

All six were rescued shortly after the 1:50 p.m. EDT crash about 200 feet from land, said St. Clair County sheriff's Lt. A.J. Foster. The pilot was the only one reported injured.

Foster identified the pilot of the 1972 Piper owned by Evans Air Corp. as Robert Evans, 49, of Marysville. Evans was taken to a hospital in nearby Port Huron for treatment of a cut on his nose.

The sheriff's department identified four of the passengers as a family from Cary, N.C.: Robert Caldwell, 49; wife Linda, 50; son Robert Jason, 17; and daughter Elisa, 21. The fifth passenger was Christopher Wallbank, 20, of Port Huron, Foster said.

"We lost the left engine and then we lost the right engine," Robert Caldwell told the Times Herald of Port Huron. "(The pilot) brought it down and it skipped a couple of times."

Caldwell said the group boarded the plane in Killarney, Ontario, on Georgian Bay and was flying to St. Clair County Airport in St. Clair Township.

All six people were able to escape from the plane after the crash and were helped to shore by area pleasure boaters, the sheriff's office said.

The plane remained partially submerged in the lake Sunday afternoon, pending its removal by a marine salvage company.

The St. Clair County sheriff's marine division and the U.S. Coast Guard handled the rescue, Foster said. The Federal Aviation Administration was expected to take over the investigation of the crash.

Fort Gratiot is about nine miles north of Port Huron and about 69 miles northeast of Detroit.

 

[Maverick]

Wow. That always "freaks me out" a bit when I hear a Mayday or other emergency situation on the radio. As you said, glad to hear everyone is okay...

Do you recognize the pilot's name in the story below?

Yes, that's the one. It sure got on the AP wire fast didn't it?

It must have happened really quickly because the MayDay distress call was very short with nothing other than the "Mayday Mayday Mayday Navaho (callsign)" and it was so fast I couldn't even get the call sign. He must have went in right after uttering those words.

I am very happy everyone is ok. I'm sure it was the boaters who found him first, they probably saw him go in. On a day like today there are always boats in that part of the lake.

It was a somewhat frightening experience for me hearing a distress call without enough information to do anything with.

Jeannie