3 Dead, 3 Hurt in Small Plane Crash Near Michigan Airport

Authorities say three people have died and three others were injured after a single-engine plane crashed near Capital Region International Airport in mid-Michigan.
Published: 10/3/2019, 4:04:04 PM EDT
3 Dead, 3 Hurt in Small Plane Crash Near Michigan Airport
The site just west of Capital Region International Airport where a small plane crashed on Oct. 3, 2019. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP)

DEWITT TOWNSHIP, Mich.—Three people died and three others were injured when a single-engine plane heading from Indianapolis crashed Thursday near Capital Region International Airport in mid-Michigan, authorities said.

The six-passenger plane was on its way to the Lansing-area airport when it went down about 9 a.m.

“I know that it was coming in on the approach and that’s when something went wrong,” airport spokesman Spencer Flynn said.

The scene just west of Capital Region International Airport where a small plane crashed on Oct. 3, 2019. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP)
The scene just west of Capital Region International Airport where a small plane crashed on Oct. 3, 2019. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP

The plane was at capacity and included a pilot and co-pilot, said Clinton County Sheriff Larry Jerue. Names of those onboard weren’t immediately released.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Socata TBM 700 plane left Indy South Greenwood Airport at 8 a.m. Thursday, according to WRTV-TV. The station reported that the FAA registry lists the plane as being owned by a Greenwood, Indiana, company.

The airport received an emergency alert from the plane, said airport public safety and operations chief Eric Patrick. He wasn’t sure if the alert came before or after the crash.

The site just west of Capital Region International Airport where a small plane crashed on Oct. 3, 2019. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP)
The site just west of Capital Region International Airport where a small plane crashed on Oct. 3, 2019. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP

The plane was largely intact at the crash site and Patrick said the plane wasn’t part of scheduled commercial service at the airport.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Authority were heading Thursday to the area.