December 7, 2011
Amazon.com executive Tom Phillips, a 52-year-old of Kirkland, Michigan, and a 29-year-old man died Sunday in a small-plane crash on Lake Huron shore, reports US News. They were flying to a home that Phillips owned on Mackinaw Island when the crash occurred.
After a concerned family member called Michigan State Police at 10:07 p.m. on Saturday, Search and Rescue Controllers at Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, were contacted.
The men departed en route to Mackinaw Island in a Piper Saratoga for a 4.5 mile fight that should have taken about six minutes. They were scheduled to arrive about 8 p.m.
A Coast Guard aircrew involved in the search effort received a signal from a 121.5 MHz emergency location transmitter. The plane wreckage was found about 100 yards from the shore and about three miles north of St. Ignace, Michigan.
"Tom's a family man, puts his family first, and he's very involved and committed to our community here at our school and at our parish, and he's one of the first people, if anything ever is needed they call Tom,” said a friend.
Federal Aviation Administration records show that the plane was owned by the charter company, Great Lakes Air Inc. Investigators are expected to arrive on Monday.
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