BETHEL TOWNSHIP, MI (WTVB) – Authorities continue their probe into the cause of Saturday’s plane accident in Branch County that claimed the life of a pilot who was flying solo in his crop duster.
The aircraft went down in a field in Bethel Township near Kosmerick and South Snow Prairie Roads. Michigan State Police identified the crash victim as 25-year-old Phillip Ching, who was from Elsie, Michigan but had been staying in Middlebury, Indiana for the summer working for Lutes Flying Company, which owned the plane.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. The NTSB finished their on-site work yesterday. The plane wreckage is scheduled to be removed from the accident scene today.
Michigan State Police reported the single engine aircraft had been conducting aerial application of agricultural chemicals when it crashed at about 5:30 p.m. and that Ching apparently died on impact.
The official cause of death will be determined following an autopsy.
