UPDATED: Names of Victims in Livingston County Plane Crash Released

Patrick L. Charles, 43, of Canton, and John J. Nowak, 70, of Westland, were identified as the victims in Wednesday's plane crash near Livingtson County Airport in Howell Township.

The experimental plane carrying the two men crashed into a home at 2800 W. Highland Rd., killing both, according to the Livingston County Sheriff's Department. The plane was registered to Charles and took off from in Wayne County.

Tom O'Connell, who lives at the home, said he watched the crash happen through one of his house's windows, starting at about 7:15 p.m. It hit a front wall.

"The plane was coming straight at me. The plane was out of control," O'Connell said. He was not injured.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation are investigating the crash and are on the scene Thursday.

Charles did not file a flight plan, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials.

Flight plans are not required and not always necessary, according to Doug Kitze, owner of Kitze Aviation, the company which manages the airport.

He and other airport officials had no further comment, though clearly airport officials and employees were sad on Thursday. Both the pilots' planes are based at the Canton-Plymouth airport.

The plane, a two-seat experimental craft, is a T-18 which was built in 1982 and approved for flight in 1987, according to FAA records.

FAA initial investigation indicates the plane was attempting to land at Livingston County Airport, 3480 W. Grand River Ave., in Howell Township, when it crashed into O'Connell's house off M-59. No flight plan appears to have been filed, so it is not clear where the flight originated, according to one FAA investigator.

The two airports are about 40 miles apart by car.

The term experimental aircraft doesn't necessarily mean that it was a bad aircraft, or that it was not safe, said Jason Bennett, a Canton resident and commercial pilot for Mesaba Airlines.

"These are usually very good aircrafts," he said.