Seaplane crashes along St. Clair River, killing 1

CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A single-engine seaplane crashed into a dock near a home on the St. Clair River, killing the 80-year-old pilot.

The St. Clair County sheriff's department says the Grosse Pointe man was flying the plane about 1 p.m. Thursday when witnesses said the plane circled, went sideways and crashed into a dock in Clay Township.

His name wasn't immediately released.

Dock owner Ronald Mikolajczyk tells the Times Herald of Port Huron he heard a propeller buzzing and then the sound of the plane hitting the dock.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Corey says the pilot was the only person aboard. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash about 30 miles northeast of Detroit. 


Man dies after plane hits St. Clair River dock
Detroit Free Press
CLAY TOWNSHIP — The plane that crashed into a St. Clair River dock is owned by Michigan Sport Aviation LLC out of Grosse Pointe, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The plane has tail number N853CZ and is a fixed-wing, single-engine craft manufactured in 2007. 

Police said the pilot, who was killed, was an 80-year-old man. His name and residence are not being released pending notification of family. 

St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon said the pilot was the only person in the plane. The craft was flying south over the river’s North Channel when it banked hard and hit the dock at 4965 Pointe Tremble Road about 1 p.m. 

Liz Cory, an FAA spokeswoman, said officials are investigating. The lead investigator is the National Transportation Safety Board.

She said there is no indication of why the plane crashed. An investigation typically takes several weeks, she said. 

Ronald Mikolajczyk, who owns the dock, said he heard a propeller buzzing and then the “thump” of the plane hitting the dock.

Mikolajczyk, 53, said he and neighbors rushed to the plane, and the pilot was unresponsive and had no pulse. He said the plane hit the dock at a 45-degree angle.

“It is real nerve-racking, a terrible scene,” he said.

Mikolajczyk said the craft is a small amphibian plane, which allows it to land and take off from the water.

“It was a big thump with a crunch,” he said of the plane crashing. “You know it was a sound of something happening that shouldn’t happen.”

Mikolajczyk, who has lived in the house for 11 years, said he’s never seen anything like it.

“Boats run into the docks, but not airplanes,” he said.

According to a Times Herald reporter on the scene, the plane’s nose is in the water, smashed into the dock. The tail of the plane is bent over the cockpit. 

The plane is silver, with blue on the tips of the wings. There is a blue and red stripe down the side.

80-Year-Old Man Killed in Small Plane Crash WXYZ CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - The pilot of a small plane was killed when his plane crashed in a channel near Harsens Island. The plane crashed in the North Channel of the St. Clair River. The 80-year-old pilot who died was from Grosse Pointe. He was flying alone when the crash happened. St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnelon says the pilot was flying south at a low altitude. "He circled toward the north, the plane went sideways, and he crashed into the dock just after one o’clock this afternoon,” Sheriff Donnellon reports. A couple was outside doing yard work when they reportedly saw the plane crash. The husband and wife said the plane nearly hit their home. That's when they say it did a nose-dive and crashed into the water. They say they rushed over to help, but say the man did not have a pulse. It is not known where the man was coming from or headed to. The pilot's name is not being released until members of his family are notified.