2 survive plane crash in Caledonia Twp

CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - The pilot and lone passenger aboard a single-engine plane survived after the Cessna Centurion II crashed Monday morning in Caledonia Township.

The plane went down just before 9 a.m. into a field just east of M-37 and south of 92nd Street -- and caught fire.

A 42-year-old Belmont man had borrowed the plane for a certification flight, a Kent County sheriff's sergeant said. Both the 42-year-old and his 26-year-old passenger were instructors. The two weren't seriously hurt, Sgt. Corey Luce said.

"They were fairly calm for just going down," Caledonia Township Fire Chief Brian Bennett told reporters. "[The pilot] did a pretty good job picking this field to try to put it down in."

The two had taken off from Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Cascade Township and were set to return there after the certification flight, Luce said. They were flying at about 4,000 feet, the sergeant said, when they lost engine power and were not able to regain it.

Planes often fly over the field on Scott Rodgers' family's property. But this one was flying much lower than most.

"I was kind of stunned," Rodgers said. "Usually they're flying about 1,000 or 1,500 feet in the air coming in for the airport."

This plane, Rodgers figures, was flying perhaps 100 feet above the ground before the crash.

"[The pilot] caught the edge of the ground and kind of tumbled a little bit into the field," Rodgers said.

Standing in the field where the Cessna crashed, Rodgers said he could have been out near the crash site working when it happened. But since it's a holiday, he wasn't.

"I'm actually really glad that I was right where I was (closer to his home)," Rodgers said, because he was able to run and check on the two people aboard the plane.

"Just made sure everybody was all right," he said. "That was the first thing."

Based on the pilot's estimate, the plane had about 75 gallons of fuel on board when it crashed, according to Luce. Containment is in place to keep any leaking fuel from getting into the soil, said Bennett.

As with any plane crash, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are expected to investigate.