William Beswick
http://www.mlive.comPLAINWELL — An aging sign on the wall of the Fly Inn restaurant in Plainwell reads: “Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man. Landing is the first.”
The adage’s inspiring message has adopted a more solemn meaning after William Beswick, a frequent patron of the restaurant, was killed Friday in a plane crash less than one mile away.
Beswick, 73, of Holland, was flying in to have breakfast at the restaurant, as he did several times a week.
On Saturday, fellow pilots, friends and locals filled the small eatery as they often do, mingling at tables and exchanging pleasantries. But the hugs were a little longer, and there were tears in some eyes.
One of their own was gone.
“It’s on everyone’s mind,” said Brian Hadfield, 33, a 14-year pilot and flight instructor at Western Michigan University. “There’s no way to just look past it.”
“It shakes everybody up when something like this happens,” said Steve Milbocker, a pilot from Otsego.
Authorities said Beswick was trying to land when his Thorp T-18 airplane clipped the top of a FedEx semi-trailer traveling north on U.S. 131. The plane caught fire after crashing into a ditch just west of Plainwell Municipal Airport. Beswick, who was flying alone, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Thick fog and low-lying clouds had settled where the crash occurred, which authorities say might have contributed to the crash.
Located at the south end of the Plainwell airstrip, the Fly Inn is small, simple and usually bustling with locals and pilots who really do “fly in” for a good old-fashioned meal. Its decor is dedicated to aviation, with walls garnished with model airplanes and vintage photos of civilian pilots beaming next to their personal planes.
The one-room eatery has about 10 small tables and little room for folks waiting to get a seat. So, some don’t even bother waiting; they just join someone who’s already there.
“It’s like a family here,” said 71-year-old Bob Wagel, a restaurant regular who sold his plane last year after 35 years of piloting.
Wagel drives to the restaurant from his home in Dowagiac at least once a week. He said he does it for the companionship of being with other pilots.
That fellowship is created by a mutual passion for flying, said Hadfield, of Plainwell.
“It’s our job, but it’s also our life,” he said. “It’s hard to explain it.”
Some days, he calls it “air therapy.”
“If I’m having a rough day, I can just come out and fly,” he said. “All my problems are left on the ground.”
Aviators come back to the Fly Inn because it captures the spirit of the civilian pilot community, Wagel said.
“The food is great, too,” he added.
Fly Inn dishwasher Brandon Brewer, 17, said many of the restaurant’s patrons are regulars; some come every day.
Like the customers, employees tend to stick around. Brewer said about 10 people staff the restaurant, and most of them have been working there for quite a while.
Saturday’s morning staff included six women working the front of the restaurant, including owner Cathy Dunn. Dunn cooked all morning, hustling from one end of the grill to the other, visible behind a short divider that serves as the only thing separating the kitchen from the dining room.
With staff and customers in such an intimate setting, the Fly Inn feels more like a reunion than a restaurant.
Patrons leave their tables to talk with others and smile at almost everyone who walks through the door. Most people stick around and chat with the staff long after they’ve paid their bills. Servers greet their customers with jokes and an occasional hug.
While saddened by Beswick’s death, restaurant staff and patrons did their best to keep up their spirits.
“The morning crew knew him well,” Dunn said. “It’s sad; we’re all sad.”
Hadfield said he’s a little nervous about flying out of Plainwell now, but not because he is concerned about crashing, but because “every time a plane takes off or lands, it will make everyone in the community nervous.”
But staff and customers at the Fly Inn also have seen enough takeoffs and landings to know that most of the time, everything goes as planned.
Only a small fence with an open gate separates the hangar and airstrip from the restaurant, where patrons can dine inside or out back and have a full view of the planes as they take off and land.
In essence, the Fly Inn’s backyard doubles as an airplane parking lot. It’s true; you can just about fly right in.
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