NTSB: Pilot of crashed airplane was not instrument-rated

DETROIT (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the pilot of a small plane that crashed in western Michigan in poor weather, killing himself and a passenger, did not hold an instrument rating to fly in such conditions.

The single-engine plane Cessna crashed July 15 in Oceana County’s Shelby Township, killing pilot Raymond Gundy, 56, of Muskegon County, and his passenger, Troy Caris, 48, of Holton, Michigan State Police said.

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The flight departed from runway 9 at Oceana County Airport in Shelby with a destination of Warsaw, Indiana.

Two commercial pilots at the airport observed the departure, the report said: One reported that the ceiling at the time was no higher than 100 feet (30.48 meters) and the other said the plane entered “instrument meteorological conditions” as it crossed a road about 1,300 feet (396.24 meters) past the departure end of the runway.

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Both witnesses reported visibility was poor and it was raining at the time, the report said.