PERE MARQUETTE CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Michigan — An Indiana couple and their two dogs were killed in a plane crash Thanksgiving weekend, and they're being remembered as passionate advocates for aviation.
Randy Strebig, 60, and Allison Wheaton, 43, crashed soon after takeoff at the Mason County Airport late Sunday morning. The NTSB said the plane was headed to Angola, Indiana.
The couple sat on the Board of Directors for the International Seaplane Fly-in, which is a Maine-based non-profit that hosts a fly-in each year.
"We are shocked and devastated at the loss of Allison Wheaton and Randy Strebig yesterday in Michigan," the International Seaplane Fly-in group shared on Facebook.
"Randy and Allison will forever be remembered as selfless community members and talented aviators, passionate about every project and cause they took on. Blue skies and tailwinds to our dear friends."
The couple met at a fly-in event 18 years ago, the organization said, and married last September in a surprise ceremony at their own "seaplane splash-in" event in Indiana.
The FAA said the plane was a single-engine Socata TBM-700.
The plane departed on the east/west runway, banked hard left and crashed into a field off of airport property.
The NTSB was surveying the crash site Monday morning and said after the crash, a fire broke out destroying the aircraft.
In the coming days, federal investigators will recover the wreckage, taking it to a secure facility for further evaluation.
NTSB investigations involve three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment. As part of this process, investigators will gather the following information and records:
- Flight track data
- Recordings of any air traffic control communications
- Aircraft maintenance records
- Weather forecasts and actual weather and lighting conditions around the time of the accident
- Pilot’s license, ratings and recency of flight experience
- 72-hour background of the pilot to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safety operate the flight
- Witness statements
- Any available surveillance video, including from doorbell cameras
Authorities are asking witnesses of the accident or those who have surveillance video to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
The Mason County Press shared that the weather conditions at the time were snowy with less than a mile of visibility.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be investigating the crash and will provide any updates as they come.
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