Couple Planning Vineyard on Michigan's Beaver Island Among 4 Killed in Plane Crash
Nov. 14—A plane crashed Saturday at an island in northern Lake Michigan, killing four of the five people aboard, including a couple who were planning to open a winery and vineyard there.
The 1:30 p.m. flight was headed to Welke Airport on Beaver Island from Charlevoix, said Lt. William Church of the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office.
EARLIER REPORT: Nomadic Michigan couple pushes limits to see what grapes can grow on Beaver Island
The pilot and three passengers, Kate Leese and Adam Kendall of Beaver Island and Mike Perdue of Gaylord, died as a result of the crash, Church said. The passengers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Perdue's daughter, 11, was the fourth passenger on the plane, according to the Associated Press, and sustained serious injuries.
The U.S. Coast Guard flew the pilot, who has not been identified by authorities, and the girl to McClaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, according to Brian McCrum, a public affairs specialist with the Coast Guard.
The two were flown on an MH-60 Jayhawk, a twin-engine helicopter often used by the Coast Guard for search and rescue missions. Officers were conducting routine training out of Air Station Traverse City when they received an emergency transmission from Beaver Island, McCrum said.
The plane that crashed was a Britten-Norman BN-2A, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. That type of plane is used to ferry people between the island and Charlevoix in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Island Air, which operated the plane, declined to comment on the crash, citing the ongoing investigation. Representatives from the privately-owned Welke Airport were not available when reached for comment.
Weather-permitting, multiple flights make the 15-minute trip from Charlevoix to Beaver Island and back every day, according to Rachel Teague, manager at Beaver Island Airport.
Teague also owns Fresh Air, the other Charlevoix airline that operates this route.
"Our hearts are broken," said Teague. "It's a very tragic loss, and we're here to service the island in the interim to make sure their needs are met."
No fatalities were recorded on any commercial flights along this route prior to Saturday, said Teague.
Leese, 35, a biochemist who grew up in Charlevoix, and Kendall, 37, an attorney and Jackson native, recently moved to Beaver Island after traveling the country for years.
They planted 2,100 vines on a fallow field this past spring with the dream of opening Antho Vineyards, a winery and tasting room that was welcomed by the island's local community of just 600 people.
"It feels like a place somewhere along the road where you could stop and have a glass of wine with new friends," Leese told The News for a story published first published online Nov. 6. "Our goal is to have that kind of place that brings people together."
Leese and Kendall told The News they were ready for a more stationary existence after spending three years on the road, pulling a renovated Airstream around the continental United States, working remotely.
They found a property on Beaver Island after a random stop in fall 2019, in the wake of a boat trip up the northwestern Michigan coastline.
"Almost immediately after we pulled into the marina here, we knew this was the level of quiet we were looking for," Kendall said. "At night, there's almost complete silence here. There's no light pollution. You can hear every car (if one goes by). It's the kind of place we had been looking for as our next spot."
Their earlier transient life included picking up and moving every three or four days, seeking out less-traveled parks and locales. During that time on the road, they left their former jobs and created their own company, the Kinetics Company, an emergency management consulting firm.
They lived in more than 220 places and continued to travel even after finding their niche on Beaver Island. It took them another year to secure the former farm property.
"They were a huge asset to our community," said Realtor Sheri Richards of Real Estate One, who helped the couple find their property when they moved to Beaver Island. "... It's very sad to see a couple in their 30s pass like that, it's very tragic."
"(Kate and Adam) were vibrant, energetic, full of life," continued Richards. "They went above and beyond in their work and personal lives, and were very giving."
Perdue, the third passenger pronounced dead at the scene, was a real estate agent with Smith Realty Group in Gaylord.
He regularly visited property that he owned on the island, according to Richards, who said she and Perdue often worked with each other's clients.
Perdue grew up in northern Michigan, and was an active member of his community, according to his company profile. He began his career as a realtor in 2012, and was a board member of the Otsego County Economic Alliance, vice president of Gaylord Little League, and served on the St. Mary Athletic Board.
"He was always a gentleman," said Richards. "And he was always a positive, wonderful person."
Greg Tasker and the Associated Press contributed.
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