Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Incidents occurred June 01 and June 14, 2021 in East Tawas, Iosco County, Michigan


East Tawas Police Department 

Monday night, June 14, 2021 at approximately 9pm, East Tawas Police were dispatched to the report of a plane crash in Tawas Lake near Geller Street. A nearby resident called 911 to report the crash. 

ETPD arrived at the location and observed a small airplane upside down in Tawas Lake approximately 250 yards off shore, the pilot had climbed out of the plane and was standing on the wing.  

ETPD made contact with a witness who was on a pontoon boat near the airplane.  

The witness said he was sitting on the porch of his residence when he observed a small airplane land on Tawas Lake. He said the airplane began to nosedive and flipped over in the water.  

The witness said him along with several other people jumped into his boat and went to assist the pilot.  

He said the pilot was the only person in the airplane and there were no injuries.  

ETPD made contact with the pilot (54-year-old Whittemore man) and confirmed he was ok. 

A short time later additional emergency responders arrived at the location to offer assistance.  

East Tawas Fire, Tawas City PD, DNR, MSP, and EMS. 

The DNR Officer arrived at the location and checked to see if any fuel and or oil had spilled into the water. He found no sign of any spillage. He made contact with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and advised them of this incident.   

The pilot said he had landed his Ultra-Glide (small light weight) plane on Tawas Lake and began to use the throttle to gain speed in order to avoid the weeds.  
He said he attempted to trim out the airplane when it malfunctioned, causing the airplane to nosedive and flip over in the water. The pilot said that he then exited the airplane and waited for help.  

The pilot said he had assistance on the way to recover his airplane from the water.

ETPD remained on the scene until the airplane was recovered from the water and the area was cleared.  

There were no injuries reported and all debris was removed from the lake. 




EAST TAWAS, Michigan – In a two-week period, two different pilots managed to escape injury when their planes landed – and subsequently flipped over – in East Tawas water bodies. The first occurred on June 1 in Tawas Bay, and the second took place on June 14 in Tawas Lake.

As for the most recent event, East Tawas Police Department (ETPD) Chief Frank Anthony stated that the ETPD was dispatched at about 9 p.m. to the report of a plane crash in Tawas Lake, near Geller Street.

A nearby resident called 9-1-1 to report the incident and, upon the ETPD’s arrival, Anthony says they observed a small airplane upside down in the lake, approximately 250 yards off shore.

As noted in an ETPD press release shared by the chief, the pilot had climbed out of the plane and was standing on the wing at that point.

Police made contact with a witness who was on a pontoon boat near the airplane, and who told authorities that he was sitting on the porch of his residence when he saw the plane land on Tawas Lake. 

He stated that the airplane began to nosedive and flipped over in the water.

The witness said that he, along with several other people, jumped into his boat and went to assist the pilot.  

The witness also stated that the pilot was the only person in the airplane, and there were no injuries.

ETPD made contact with the pilot – a 54-year-old male from Whittemore – and confirmed he was okay.

The press release reads that a short time later, additional emergency responders arrived at the location to offer assistance. This entailed the East Tawas Fire Department, Tawas City Police Department, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Michigan State Police and Iosco County EMS.

A DNR Officer arrived at the scene to check if any fuel and/or oil had leaked into the water, and he reportedly found no sign of any spillage. He also made contact with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, to advise them of the incident.

According to the ETPD, the pilot said he had landed his Ultra-Glide – a small, lightweight plane – on Tawas Lake and began to use the throttle to gain speed, in order to avoid the weeds. He attempted to trim out the plane when it malfunctioned, causing the aircraft to nosedive and flip over in the water.  

The pilot said that he then exited the plane and waited for help.

He stated that he had assistance on the way, as well, to recover his plane from the water.

ETPD remained on the scene until the aircraft was recovered and the area was cleared.

There were no injuries reported, and all debris was removed from the lake.

As recently noted in this publication, a couple weeks prior to this the pilot of a small plane was pulled to safety by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station Tawas personnel, after he landed in Tawas Bay on the evening of June 1.

This occurred about 100 yards south of Tawas Point Lighthouse, and the pilot told the USCG that the incident was the result of a malfunction with the aircraft’s landing gear.

The plane overturned and became submerged in the bay off of Lake Huron but, aside from some minor scrapes and bruises, the pilot was unharmed.

As with the Tawas Lake plane crash, the operator of the aircraft which landed in the bay was also the only occupant on board at the time.


The sole occupant of this aircraft was unharmed after a landing gear malfunction caused his plane to flip over and become submerged in Tawas Bay on June 1. According to representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), which shared this photo on social media, the pilot experienced only minor scrapes and bruises. He was rescued from the water by USCG Station Tawas personnel.

1 comment:

  1. I don't think the wheels should have been extended....just saying.

    ReplyDelete