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Thunder Over Michigan crash: Report details what happened before plane crashed at Belleville apartment

By Amber Ainsworth
Published  August 28, 2023 6:27am EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

'A loud boom'; People describe Michigan airshow crash

The plane that crashed during a Michigan air show, requiring its pilots to eject as it crashed into a Belleville apartment complex was identified as a MiG-23UB.

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (FOX 2) - The pilot of a plane that crashed during the Thunder Over Michigan Airshow didn't want to eject from the plane as it experienced engine problems, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

According to the report, the fighter jet took off from Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti around 3:15 p.m. Aug. 13. The pilot told investigators that the plane made a "banana pass" (a low-level knife-edge pass) from the runway it departed before he banked the plane.

This is when the pilot noticed the engine afterburner did not ignite, and speed was decreasing. The pilot said he used swing wings to increase the plane's lift as he troubleshooted the issue.

As he worked to troubleshoot, the rear passenger said they needed to eject from the plane. However, the pilot did not want to yet. Both seats then ejected before the plane crashed at Waverly on the Lake apartments.

The pilot told investigators that if the ejection handle is pulled, it ejects both seats. The passenger said he couldn't remember if he pulled the handles, but "thinks that he would have pulled them."

The crash left a 600-foot path of wreckage at the apartment complex near I-94. Both the pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries, and no one on the ground was hurt.