BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. — Four people were injured when a small plane crashed in Berrien Springs at midday Friday.
At 11:12 a.m., the Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police and Fire departments responded to a report of an aircraft accident next to 410 N. Bluff St. in the village of Berrien Springs. Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Anna Stutz found three occupants of the four-seat single engine airplane outside the plane with the pilot still inside strapped in his seat upside-down.
Firefighters assisted in removing the pilot from the wreckage.
The single-engine Piper Comanche had been headed from Richmond, Ind., to the Andrews University Airpark for a family gathering in the Berrien Springs area. According to the airplane occupants the plane’s engine failed and it crashed.
The two male and two female occupants all were taken to Lakeland St. Joseph Hospital for injuries ranging from serious to minor.
There was no damage to the house at 410 N. Bluff St., which was occupied by Garland and Ruth Dilley. The airplane came to rest five to six feet away from the home.
A power line was entangled in the plane’s tail wing so power was shut off to four homes in that area until the line could be removed from the plane. Power was still off when officers cleared the scene at about 3:50 p.m.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigator from South Bend arrived at the scene to perform an initial investigation. The wreckage then was taken to a hangar at the Andrews University Airpark to await further investigation.
The plane was owned by William Fisher, the co-pilot on the flight. His son, Bryce Fisher, was the pilot.
Passengers were Barbara Fisher (the wife of William Fisher) and Miritha Morales (the girlfriend of Bryce Fisher).
The Fishers are from Richmond, Ind., and Morales is from DeKalb, Ill.
