Couple die in plane crash near Adrian

10/23/2009

ADRIAN — A husband and wife were killed after a single-engine plane crashed northeast of Adrian just after witnesses said they heard its engine sputtering Friday afternoon.

Lenawee County Sheriff Jack Welsh said authorities believe the two were the only ones on board. They were en route from Pennsylvania to the Lenawee County Airport, where relatives were expected to pick them up.

The sheriff said they were investigating whether the plane may have struck a cell phone tower nearby on Valley Road before the accident. A helicopter from the Monroe County Sheriff's office was searching the area Friday night.

Witnesses saw the plane crash about 4:30 p.m. in an open area surrounded by trees at Heritage Park near M-52 in Raisin Township, just northeast of Adrian.

They converged on the site and saw the plane burst into flames. A witness saw one of the plane's wings dangling from the wreckage.

One of the victims was inside the plane while the other was believed to have been ejected from it.

The plane was coming from the north and flying in a southwesterly direction toward the county airport on West Cadmus Road southwest of Adrian.

Sheriff Walsh said he would not release the victims' names Friday night. He said officials would return to the scene Saturday to begin removing the wreckage from the area.

The Federal Aviation Administration was on scene investigating.