By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Cassopolis Vigilant
Five miles away a former pilot heard a low flying plane. "The plane was too low," said Roger Woods, who heard the engine inside his brick home to the north on Indian Lake Road.
The call about a crash during the early morning fog, came in at 9:20 a.m. Friday morning to the authorites. Some fishermen saw a plane go over Smith Lake, heard and then reported the crash, said Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood.
It was a few hours later before it was decided in which county it actually occurred. The crash, fatal to four men, was just 50 feet into the Berrien County line.
A flight plan had been filed in South Bend, Ind., Underwood said.
The plane, a leased twin engine Beechcraft Baron 58, was flying from Sheboygan, Wis., to Lebanon, Ohio, according to the Michigan State Police.
Killed were four Wisconsin men flying to Ohio on a business trip: pilot Paul Riddle, 71, of Elkhart Lake, and passengers Michael Borzcik, 51, of Fond du Lac, Scott Roberts, 41, of Kohler, and Tecwyn Vance Roberts, 49, of Plymouth.
The Roberts brothers owned Plymouth Foam, which makes foam insulation and packaging materials. Borzcik was the company's vice president.
Debris from the crash in a wooded area south of Smith Road was removed to Southwest Michigan Regional Airport in Benton Harbor for the National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
Dr. Robert Clark, Berrien County Medical Examiner, conducted autopies on the victims, which were returned to Wisconsin on Tuesday.
The family was expected to view the crash site.