Lack of training, weather cause of 2021 fatal plane crash in Lyon, report says
LYON TWP. — An investigation into a 2021 fatal plane crash concluded the pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed resulted in the plane stalling and crashing. A contributing factor was the pilot’s lack of training on using the plane’s instruments to navigate in low visibility conditions.
More: Homebuilder, wife and son killed in plane crash near South Lyon
Around 3 p.m. Jan. 2, 2021, David Compo, 60, his wife Michele, 55, and their son Dawson, 18, were returning home to Northville after flying to Canton, Georgia, when their small plane crashed into a home in Lyon Township.
Compo and his family were killed in the crash and the plane was completely destroyed. None of the occupants in the home were injured, but a cat was killed, according to the investigation report.
Compo was an experienced pilot with 141 hours logged, 99 of which were under actual instrument conditions. However, he wasn't trained to fly in low visibility like the conditions on Jan. 2.
The investigation was conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board, which found no mechanical failures that would have resulted in the crash.
The board found no evidence that Compo obtained a weather briefing or filed a flight plan on the day of the crash. The family left Georgia around noon and flew using GPS.
As he was preparing to descend toward Oakland Southwest Airport, Compo was told the cloud base was 300 feet with no ice. He said 300 feet wouldn't work for the airport. When asked what he planned to do, Compo replied “I’ll give it a shot,” meaning the descent.
He approached the airport at 2,000 feet but passed over it and decelerated in a left descending turn before entering a second, tighter turn as the plane continued to descend. The last recorded altitude and airspeed were 975 feet and 71 knots near the accident location, the report said.
A home security camera captured the crash with sound. The plane hit the ground at a flat altitude, then slid into the house and caught fire.
Compo’s autopsy report showed he had no substances in his system.
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Fatal plane crash 2021 Lyon township lack of training, weather
