Plane crashes during Thunder over Michigan airshow finale at Willow Run

Ypsilanti — It was a perfect Sunday for an airshow: clear skies and thousands of aviation fans, heads raised for the 25th Thunder Over Michigan, one of the leading airshows in the nation, when suddenly, at the finale, billows of black smoke and cries from the crowd as a jet performing for the event crashed.

Two pilots ejected from the MiG-23UB fighter plane in mid-air at Willow Run Airport at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday and were rescued from Belleville Lake, the Wayne County Airport Authority said. The jet crashed into unoccupied vehicles in the parking lot of the Waverly on the Lake Apartments in Van Buren Township. There were no injuries, the airport authority said.

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Marsha Bogardus was watching the show with her kids on Belleville Lake and captured the scene on video. The quick jumble of sights and sounds more than an hour into the show scared her children, she said.

“We heard these huge booms,” Bogardus said. “I started recording and saw the two pilots eject. It scared my kids and everyone was freaking out. It dropped like a bullet straight down near an apartment complex we live by. Not sure where it landed.”

The pilot and backseater ejected successfully from the aircraft before the crash, the airport authority said. “While it did not appear they sustained any significant injuries, first responders transported the pair to a nearby hospital as a precaution.”

They were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Superior Township.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will conduct the investigation, the two agencies said. The NTSB will take the lead in the investigation. The cause of the crash was not known.

Videos appeared to show two figures ejecting and parachutes deploying.

Another witness said smoke could be seen south of the airport.

“A guy was pointing and said ‘Oh my God,’ which caused me to turn,” said Mark McCulloch, 49, of Saline. “I had my Nikon D-800 with a 600 mm lens (and) that’s what I saw. ... There was no loud noises or indication that I witnessed.”

Van Buren Township police, county sheriff’s deputies and other authorities were on the scene near the Interstate 94 and the service drive, where they blocked off roads and directed show fans from the area.

The first show started at 3 p.m., flying in circles over Van Buren Township. About 2,600 cars lined up along the service drive and at the airport to watch one of the nation’s premiere aviation shows.

The event is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Just before the 3 p.m. show began, the president and CEO of the Yankee Air Museum, Kevin Walsh, said the 55 modern and vintage military planes that make up the show are requested from all over the world.

The theme this year was “Greatest of Thunder,” including a performance by the F-22 Raptor Eye.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D- Ann Arbor, said she had been in touch with authorities about the crash.

“It appears at this time that both pilots are safe, and there has been no human injury,” Dingell said in a release. “Completing comprehensive physical assessments to ensure everyone’s safety is top priority right now.”

Naretee Vaughn and Prentiss Small, both of Detroit, were at Horizon Park on High Street in Belleville.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, and I’ve been to more than 15 airshows,” said Small, 32, who was at the show with Vaughn. “I went to school at Willow Run Airport to study aviation technology and my father was an aircraft mechanic.”

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_

Myesha Johnson contributed.