Lake Michigan Plane Crash: Two Confirmed Dead

Two people died in a plane that crashed into Lake Michigan yesterday afternoon. This was confirmed by a statement from The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Christopher Yaw said that debris had been found in the lake, which appeared to be from a 1975 Piper single-engine plane. The pilot killed in the crash was identified by the U.S. Coastguard as a William Gensler.

The general manager at Batten International Airport, Dave Mann, said that Gensler was a flight instructor and had an office at the airport. He added,”I’ve known him a long time. He’s a good pilot. He will be missed around the airport.”

The body of another man was recovered by the Coast Guard, but he has not yet been identified.

After taking off from Batten, the plane was heading for Oshkosh, Wis. The control towers did not receive any distress call, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, since the plane was being flown in accordance with visual flight rules, the pilot was not required to maintain verbal contact.

The plane came down about 3 miles from Cudahay. The fire department, the Coast Guard, and other responders, were all involved in the search, and they eventually found the aircraft submerged in 42 feet of water. The two male bodies were found trapped inside the plane.

Milwaukee Fire Battalion Chief Sean Slowey said:

“We don’t know how many people were on this plane. The plane seats four persons, so until we know otherwise, we’re going to assume there are four persons and continue searching for two missing persons until we know differently.”

An investigation will be necessary to determine the exact cause of this Lake.Michigan plane crash.

Photo Credit: dcnewsroom.blogspot.com