No serious injuries in Sunday’s air crash at Thunder Over Michigan

A MiG Russian fighter jet crashed in the rough of the golf course next to a Waverly apartment complex building in Van Buren Township near the end of Sunday’s Thunder Over Michigan Air Show at Willow Run Airport.
The pilot and other crew member in the seat behind him ejected shortly after 4 p.m., with one reportedly landing in Belleville Lake and the other in a bush or tree onshore, according to a witness in the apartment building.
Both were taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to be checked out but they appeared to not be significantly injured, according to witnesses. No one on the ground was reported injured.
Part of the MiG-23 was reported to have landed in a parking lot damaging some vehicles. First responders reportedly used shovels to smother some of the burning debris thrown around that area.
The South I-94 Service Drive was immediately shut down by Van Buren Police to isolate the crash scene. Police told residents who were displaced to go to the clubhouse. The Red Cross was on the scene.
The Air Show immediately closed down, although it had been scheduled to run until 5 p.m., and traffic was advised to be patient as the large crowd at Willow Run Airport tried to leave the show area.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were reportedly on their way from their Chicago office to investigate the cause of the crash.
Van Buren Township planning commissioner Jeff Jahr and his wife Rika Regnentin said they were right under the fighter jet on their boat when the pilots ditched.
“A piece of the canopy crashed down into the water not three boat lengths from us,” he said. “Thanks to our VBT police boat’s rapid response, the pilots were rescued and brought to shore, and to my knowledge no one was seriously injured.”
Van Buren Township Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte confirmed the rescue. “We had a Van Buren Township Marine Patrol Officer out on the boat as part of our air show detail and lake patrol. He was able to recover both the pilot and co-pilot and take them to a waiting ambulance for transportation to the hospital.”
Van Buren Township Fire Chief Dave McInally said Metro Airport Fire Department and Van Buren Police Department were working at the scene with them and Sumpter Township and Belleville fire departments brought their grass trucks.
He said they called Canton and Romulus for help as well and then cancelled the requests for them to come because they weren’t needed.
Chief McInally said the Canton Public Safety Department helped to find housing for those displaced. He said one piece of the damaged plane punctured an apartment roof and a piece of something fell into the apartment, frightening the children. That family had to be moved to a secure location.
Among those also taking part in the emergency activities were Wayne County Emergency Management, an emergency group from Monroe County / Wayne County, Metro Airport and Willow Run fire fighters, Michigan State Police, and Wayne County Sheriff’s Department.
Chief McInally said his department was scheduled help remove the damaged aircraft pieces to Willow Run Airport for the lengthy inspection by the National Transportation Safety Board. He said once the wreckage is moved, Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will remove the soil contaminated by the jet fuel, along with the PFAS from the foam used to put out the fire.