ST. IGNACE, Mich. (WLUC) – Airplane debris and human remains from a crash 17 years ago were discovered off Mackinac Island this month, Michigan State Police said Wednesday.

In August 2007, a SOCATA TB-20 Trinidad aircraft crashed into Lake Huron en route from Mackinac Island to Bad Axe. The aircraft was flown by a 52-year-old woman from Washington, DC, with one passenger, a 56-year-old man from Washington, DC. A large-scale search was conducted for the aircraft wreckage or survivors, but the aircraft was never found.

On October 8, 2007, human remains were found in the Straits of Mackinac, east of the Mackinac Bridge. These remains were recovered and later identified as those of the missing pilot. The search for the passenger and the plane wreckage continued. The search was eventually called off without the wreckage being found.

In October 2023, the private company Great Lakes Search & Recovery resumed search efforts at the request of family members. That month, members of the search team discovered aircraft debris near Bois Blanc Island. This discovery was reported to MSP.

According to MSP, members of the MSP Marine Services Team collected evidence at the crash site that led investigators to believe this plane wreckage was the missing plane from 2007. When State Police divers searched the wreckage, skeletal remains were found at the crash site. The remains were turned over to the Northern Michigan University Center for Forensic Anthropology for identification. Using dental records, they were positively identified as the skeletal remains of the 56-year-old passenger.

The Michigan State Police would like to thank Great Lakes Search and Recovery for the great job they did in providing closure to the victims’ families.

All rights reserved.