An 11-year-old girl survived a commuter airplane crash that occurred on a Lake Michigan island and slew her father and three others. As the airplane moved down for crash-landing, her father was protecting her throughout, said her mother on Sunday.
“It’s her last memory before the crash,” said Christina Perdue, the mother of 11-year-old survivor Laney.
Soon after the crash happened, on Sunday afternoon, the girl, who is now in stable condition, was taken to a children’s facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she was treated for her injuries.
The twin-engine Britton-Norman BN-2 aircraft crash that happened on Beaver Island near the northern region of Lake Michigan took down everyone else including, Perdue’s spouse Mike, and a broker from Gaylord.
“We are heartbroken with the loss of my husband, a father, brother, son, and friend. He gave the best bear hugs, and I believe he grabbed our daughter and protected her,” said Christina Perdue of what her daughter remembered about the crash.
“Our prayers are also with our island community and the other souls lost in the accident.”
On Sunday, the Sherriffs told the news outlets that the crash took place around 1:30 p.m Saturday on Beaver Island at Welke Airport, right below Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Lt. William Church of the Charlevoix County.
The Island Airways airplane was touching down the ground when the incident happened 32 miles away, after taking off from Charlevoix, Michigan, Federal Aviation Administration revealed during the investigation.
Fortunately, a helicopter crew, belonged to the Coast Guard Great Lakes was testing in the area when the crash happened and immediately responded to the emergency notice from the island. The crew took the injured who survived the crash to McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital, told the Coast Guard officials.
The male survivor was pronounced dead later at the hospital, said the sheriff’s office.
In a tweet, Coast Guard Great Lakes wrote the helicopter crew started “chest compressions” on the girl while on their way to the hospital. Then she was shifted to a children’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
A couple named Adam Kendall and Kate Leese has also been identified dead during the crash.
“The name of the pilot who died was being withheld by the sheriff’s office, pending notification of relatives”, said Church.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA have been investigating the cause of the crash.
