NTSB details what led up to plane crash at Thunder Over Michigan

Van Buren Township ― Two pilots flying in an air show near Ypsilanti on Sunday were circling for a second pass when they experienced "difficulty" with the plane's engine and ejected before it crashed in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator said Monday.

NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator John Brannen said the plane experienced "engine loss of power issues."

"The airplane had made one pass down the runway. ... There were going to be three passes total, culminating in a landing. They were circling around for the second pass when they experienced the difficulty," Brannen said.

After the plane hit the ground, it traveled around 500 feet through trees and landed near the Waverly on the Lake Apartments in Van Buren Township.

The pilot, Daniel Filer of Texas, according to Federal Aviation Administration records, had "serious but not life-threatening injuries," Brannen said during the press conference Monday. The co-pilot suffered minor injuries. It was unclear if the two pilots still were hospitalized.

The cause of the crash Sunday isn't known yet, but details emerged as a team of experts started its investigation.

A team was on the scene Monday morning, documenting the event and coordinating with a recovery crew to take the airplane offsite to do further investigation. A preliminary report is expected in about 10 days, but it could take up to two years to issue the final report.

"Right now, all the information is preliminary and we can't draw any conclusions," Brannen said. "The fact that both pilots survived and there were no ground injuries is a very good outcome."

The Environmental Protection Agency also has officials on site to address any potential fuel contamination issues, he added.

Russian plane complicates probe

The two pilots ejected from the MiG-23UB fighter plane, which is a Russian plane, in mid-air at Willow Run Airport at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday and were rescued from Belleville Lake, according to the Wayne County Airport Authority. The pilots had declared an emergency and ejected immediately, the NTSB said.

Brannen said the fact the plane is Russian could complicate the investigation.

"The fact that it is a Russian military airplane and there's no what we call a 'flight certificate' that civilian airplanes have with details of the manufacturers that you can go to for assistance in this, which will make this more difficult," Brannen said.

The plane is a fixed wing, single-engine retired Russian military plane built in 1981, according to Brannen and FAA records. Brannen said that makes it "even more challenging" because manufacturers often help investigators determine what went wrong in crashes.

"In this kind of case, I'm not sure what kind of support we'll get," he said.

A number of factors can go into why pilots would make the decision to eject from a plane, including altitude, speed and the type of plane, said Brannen.

"All of those different factors play a role in that," he said. "It varies from case to case."

NTSB investigations aim to determine probable cause in transportation accidents. In some cases, they recommend changes for regulators, equipment manufacturers, companies or state and local governments to prevent future crashes.

More:Plane crashes during Thunder over Michigan airshow finale at Willow Run

More:What we know about the MiG-23UB that went down at Michigan's premier air show

In video footage of the event, two figures can be seen dropping as clouds of black smoke burst from the plane. The airport authority said the jet crashed into unoccupied vehicles in the apartment complex's parking lot.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Thunder Over Michigan airshow, which started at 3 p.m. Sunday. Just before the show began, the president and CEO of the Yankee Air Museum, Kevin Walsh, said the 55 modern and vintage military planes that make up the show are requested from all over the world. The theme this year was “Greatest of Thunder,” including a performance by the F-22 Raptor Eye.

While distraught, representatives for the Yankee Air Museum, which hosts the airshow as the museum's annual fundraiser, declined Monday to comment further on the incident and deferred to the airport authority. 

Randy Wimbley, spokesman for the authority, said the FAA informed its officials that is is preparing to hand off the investigation to the NTSB. The FAA does not host news conferences on crashes, he said.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D- Ann Arbor, said she had been in touch with authorities about the crash.

“It appears at this time that both pilots are safe, and there has been no human injury,” Dingell said in a release. “Completing comprehensive physical assessments to ensure everyone’s safety is top priority right now.”

Plane hits 'too close to home'

The plane hit a silver pickup truck near Unit 18 of the subdivision and a large portion of the plane, its wheel and dark brown pockets of grass were visible Monday at the crash site.

Crews were picking up debris Monday morning and Emilio Cancel, 28, said he saw crews at the subdivision overnight with spotlights searching through the field since the plane crash.

Cancel, who has been a resident of a unit at Waverly on the Lake for four years, said he saw the plane crash in the field initially from his balcony.

His unit is on the perimeter of the crash site. He saw grass and trees catch fire on the plane's way down and he ran out to the scene.

"We were watching TV, and we heard a big 'boom' and then we we're like 'What the heck is that?'" Cancel said. "I looked outside and all of sudden I see something 'boom,' blew up right here," Cancel said. "The biggest fireball I've ever seen."

He added: "It was crazy. I felt the shock. Our whole building shook, like were getting bombed. ... I noticed it was a plane, and I was worried for the pilots. I didn't know where the pilots ejected. The whole field was on fire. Everything was on fire. … It was messed up."

He said he believes the fire didn't spread more throughout the field because of rocks that are planted nearby a spring.

"I had a friend at unit 18 they had to evacuate over there," he said. "Luckily, the building didn't end up catching fire."

Cancel looked through binoculars to see crews pick up debris Monday morning along with a few other residents like Paul Skrzycki, 72 who snapped photos.

Skrzyski was at Diamondback Saloon in Belleville watching the air show. He said he saw the plane start flaming over his head and heard the sounds when the pilots ejected.

"I saw the whole thing. I did not sleep very well last night because at that time I didn't know they ejected," Skrzyski said. "It was so much black smoke, I couldn't get close to it. … I can definitely smell that smell. I'm going to remember that for a long time."

Skrzyski and his wife have been living in the area for 40 years and said it hit "too close to home."

"I'm not staying around for air shows anymore," he said. "It's always been a worry for all of us. … They just lucked out that they didn't hit an apartment. … How fortunate they are that it didn't go into (Interstate) 94."

rbeggin@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @rbeggin