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NTSB releases preliminary plane crash report.
Homeowner heard a ‘a big roar.’
By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.
SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The National Transportation Safety Board released the preliminary report for the plane crash in Shelby Township last month that killed two Muskegon County men.
Pilot Raymond Gundy, 56, of Muskegon County, and his passenger Troy Caris, 48, of Holton, died in the crash near 102nd Avenue between Buchanan and Woodrow roads Friday, July 15, around 6:15 p.m.
The single-engine Cessna 210 plane crashed in a wooded area behind a house. The homeowner heard a “big roar outside” and then “a big bang,” the report states.
The plane had taken off from the nearby Oceana County Airport and was headed to Warsaw, Indiana, according to the report.
Two commercial pilots witnessed the takeoff and reported “that ceiling at the time of takeoff was no higher than 100 feet.” Both pilots reported that “the visibility was poor.”
The report states that Gundy had a private pilot certificate but did not possess an instrument rating.
The following is the narrative of the NTSB report:
“On July 15, 2022, about 18:15 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 210C, N3659Y, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Shelby, Michigan. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed from runway 9 at Oceana County Airport (C04), Shelby, Michigan, with a destination of Warsaw Municipal Airport (ASW), Warsaw, Indiana. Two witnesses, who were both commercial pilots, were at the airport and observed the airplane depart. One witness reported that the ceiling at the time of takeoff was no higher than 100 feet, and the other witness reported that the airplane entered instrument meteorological conditions as it crossed a road about 1,300 feet past the departure end of the runway. Both witnesses reported that the visibility was poor and it was raining at the time. Another witness, who owned the land where the airplane crashed, was inside his home at the time. He heard a ‘big roar outside.’ He got up to look, thinking it was a tractor-trailer going by his house. He then heard a ‘big bang,’ looked outside his picture window, and saw smoke or dust. He then realized that an airplane had crashed adjacent to his house in the woods and the big roar was the engine running and it was ‘revving up.’ The entire sequence lasted about 30 seconds. The wreckage was located in a wooded area about 1.5 nautical miles southeast of C04. There was no fire. The wreckage was highly fragmented. The measured descent angle through the broken tree limbs was about 49° (degrees). All structural components of the airplane were accounted for within the wreckage path. The pilot held a private pilot certificate but did not possess an instrument rating.”
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