The FAA and the National Transportation Board are investigating the crash, a report said.
An 11-year-old girl miraculously survived a plane crash in Beaver Island, Michigan, that killed her father, three other adults and two dogs, according to a published report.
Laney Perdue said she remembers her father protecting her as the crash happened, Perdue’s heartbroken mother, Christina Perdue said in a statement on Sunday, ABC News reported. “It’s her last memory before the crash,” Christina said of her husband, a father of four and realtor.
"We are heartbroken with the loss of my husband, a father, brother, son and friend. He gave the best bear hugs, and I believe he grabbed our daughter and protected her," Perdue said. ”Our prayers are also with our island community and the other souls lost in the accident."
Those aboard the twin-engine light commuter plane included Kate Leese, 35, Adam Kendall, 37, and Mike Perdue. The pilot's name has not been released.
Leese, 35, and Kendall, 37, an attorney, were featured in the Detroit News earlier this month. The couple had recently moved to Beaver Island and were restoring a turn-of-the-century farmhouse, and had dreams of opening a winery and tasting room, ABC reported.
The couple had been living out of a renovated Airstream while traveling around the country. Kendall told the Detroit News that Beaver Island was the “level of quiet they were looking for," the newspaper reported.
Laney Perdue is in stable condition at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The tragedy unfolded on Saturday around 1:30 p.m. at Welke Airport on Beaver Island, situated in the northern end of Lake Michigan, about 40 miles northwest of the city of Charlevoix, Charlevoix County Sheriff Lieutenant William Church said, CNN reported.
The Island Airways aircraft was landing at the airport when the crash occurred after departing from Charlevoix, Michigan, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA said the plane they were flying in was a Britton-Norman BN2P, a report said.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) had been conducting a training flight when an Emergency Locator Transmitter alert came in notifying them of the crash, according to a tweet from USCG Great Lakes.
“The helicopter crew members landed and offered assistance and were able to hoist and transport an 11-year-old-female and a male adult to McLaren Hospital in Petoskey, MI,” the USCGC tweet said.
En route to the hospital, chest compressions were being done on the young girl. The man was later pronounced dead, a USCG spokesperson told CNN.
The FAA and the National Transportation Board are investigating the crash, a report said.
Dana Bensinger, the organizer of a GoFundMe, said Perdue has "many broken bones and injuries but most of them are ones that are going to heal on their own, another miracle."
As of Monday afternoon, more than $62,000 was raised towards their goal of $100,000.
