Thunder Over Michigan fighter jet lost power moments before crash, investigation shows
A day after a retired Russian fighter jet crashed Sunday afternoon at the Yankee Air Museum’s Thunder Over Michigan Airshow, investigators from federal agencies began the tedious work of documenting and sifting through the wreckage, hoping to find clues to why it malfunctioned.
The two aboard safely ejected, landing in Belleville Lake, and the aircraft — a privately owned MiG23, which was performing at the show — smashed into a Van Buren Township parking lot and exploded into a massive fireball, narrowly missing an apartment complex.
The investigation, so far, has indicated the pilot declared an emergency when the plane’s engine lost power, an investigator said. The two aboard were unable to correct the problem and decided to eject from the aircraft. Officials said the pilot — who owns the aircraft ― had serious, but not life-threatening injuries, and the backseater had minor injuries.
"It is fortunate no one on the ground was injured," John Brannen, a senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board who came from Chicago, said during a news conference at the crash site. "In this case, we have a fairly large airplane and the fact that both pilots survived and there were no ground injuries is a very good outcome."
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The debris field is about 500 feet long, with wreckage scattered along the path, he said. And the earliest apartment residents, who were evacuated, might get the all-clear to be allowed back into their homes is likely Tuesday.
It was a bleak scene, marked by yellow police tape, cars lining the roadways and investigators moving about. A few gawkers tried to get a glimpse of the scene, too.
The remains of the wrecked military plane were strewn about next to apartments, a reminder of just how devastating the crash could have been. The emergency management vehicles of several agencies filled the parking lot.
Kathy Asam, 75, of Belleville, said she and neighbors watched the two aboard the plane eject and land in the water, the plane crash and witnessed boats closeby pull the two survivors out of the water before a police boat arrived.
"It was just surreal, at first I thought it was a show," she said. But she she saw pieces of the wreckage falling from the sky, and a neighbor turned to her and said, "They're crashing."
In addition to the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, he said, the Environmental Protection Agency is inspecting the crash site to address contamination concern. The aircraft parts will be collected and moved off site for investigation.
He said recovery of the wreckage likely will take a day or two.
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Brannen said the jet, which was manufactured in 1981, had made one pass along the airshow line, and was circling to make another. Three passes were set to unfold. But when they were circling, they started to have difficulty.
After the two aboard ejected, the plane went through trees and ended up next to the apartment complex.
The NTSB said the final report detailing what happened and caused the crash could take up to two years.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Thunder Over Michigan crash investigation: Plane's engine lost power
