NTSB report cites pilot error in 2021 Beaver Island plane crash
BEAVER ISLAND — A 2021 plane crash on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan that resulted in the death of four people was probably due to pilot error, according to a federal report.
"The pilot allowed the airspeed to decrease during the approach, increased pitch attitude, and exceeded critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin into terrain. The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover," said an Oct. 5 report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
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The Island Airways 1:30 p.m. flight from Charlevoix was arriving at Welke Airport on Beaver Island on Nov. 13, 2021 when it crashed. Pilot William Julian, Gaylord Realtor Mike Perdue, and Kate Leese and Adam Kendall, as well as their two dogs, were killed in the crash.
Perdue's then-11-year-old daughter Laney was seriously injured but survived. Laney's mother, Christina Perdue, believes her husband protected their daughter from more serious injuries by holding her tightly as the plane went down.
“Laney told me in the hospital that her last memory is that dad just grabbed her and held her really, really tight, and in my heart I know that protected her," she said in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The chief pilot for the operator witnessed the accident, according to the NTSB report.
"He stated that he heard the pilot announce that he was at 'Sand Bay,' a location that the operator’s pilots use as a reporting point about five minutes from the airport," the report reads. "He stated that he left his house, which is adjacent to the airport, to meet the airplane and he could see the airplane was flying very slowly, in a near stall position. He stated that it appeared to be flying nose-up with no power. He realized that the pilot only had a few seconds to lower the nose and add power before the airplane stalled. His first reaction was that the airplane was 'wallowing' and no one was flying the airplane. He stated that the airplane did not recover from the nose-high attitude, then stalled and impacted the ground about 100 (feet) from the runway."
The plane was operated by Island Airways, a company that provides flights between Beaver Island and Charlevoix.
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In addition to his real estate business, Mike Perdue, 43, was active in the community, serving as a member of the Otsego County Economic Alliance, Inc. (OCEA) Board and the OCEA Executive Committee. He also was a member of the athletic board at Gaylord St. Mary Cathedral School.
Leese and Kendall were planning a vineyard on the island.
Soon after the accident, family members and community volunteers from across the island helped tend to the vineyard in their memory.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: NTSB report cites pilot error in 2021 Beaver Island plane crash
