Man Who Died In Small Plane Crash Identified

A small plane apparently experienced mechanical problems while taking off Tuesday from a southwest Michigan airport before crashing and bursting into flames, killing the 60-year-old Canadian pilot, authorities and witnesses said.

James George Wilton of Ontario died in the crash, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. His hometown was not available.

The Canadian-registered Beechcraft Bonanza A36 crashed around 8:45 a.m. while trying to depart from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, said Tony Molinaro, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration’s regional office in Chicago. The single-engine plane was bound for the Muskoka Airport in Ontario, about a 90-minute drive north of Toronto.

The pilot was the only person aboard, Molinaro said. At least two unoccupied cars in a parking lot were damaged in the crash.

Public Safety Assistant Chief Brian Uridge told The Kalamazoo Gazette that the aircraft burst into flames after plowing into a fence near the parking lot at Great Lakes Aviation, which operates a regional airline.

Ron Bushouse, the service manager of a truck-rental business next to the airport, said he and another employee were working in the company’s lot when he saw the airplane struggling to take off.

The plane was “barely off the ground” and headed in Bushouse’s direction when its engine started “popping,” he said.

“You could see the smoke coming off the plane,” Bushouse said. “He tried to pitch high and the engine quit. He made an emergency turn around and the plane crashed.”

The plane burst into flames upon hitting the ground, he said. People with fire extinguishers ran from a nearby building but were unable to put out the flames.

“He didn’t get out,” Bushouse said. “He didn’t have a chance.”

Airport Director Cliff Moshoginis told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids that the crash closed the airport for about 30 minutes, but no commercial flights were affected.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.

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