The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded its investigation into a January 2021 plane crash in Lyon Township that killed a family of three.
The single-engine Piper PA-24 piloted by 60-year-old David Compo crashed January 2nd, 2021 into a home on Dakota Drive in the Orchards of Lyon subdivision – about a half mile from New Hudson Airport. Compo, his 55-year-old wife Michele and their 18-year-old son Dawson were all killed on impact. No one inside the home was injured.
The flight originated in Canton, Georgia, where the family had been visiting with family for the holidays.
The National Transportation Safety Board report determined that Compo’s failure to maintain proper airspeed resulted stalling prior to the crash. Additionally, there is no record Compo obtained a weather briefing or flight plan before departing from Georgia. He was also not instrumented rated, which means he was not trained to fly in weather with poor visibility.
As he approached the airport, the NTSB says he was informed that the cloud base was at 300 feet at which point the air controller asked what his intentions were. Compo reportedly said he would “give it (the approach) a shot.”
The report says the plane continued to descend as it approached the airport and then “entered two descending left hand spiral turns at decreasing airspeed” before disappearing from radar.
