Mich. pilot flying to see family on Thanksgiving dies in Antrim County small plane crash

Police find pilot Roger Crawford dead in Cessna wreckage after relatives report he missed family gathering

Published On: Nov 23 2012 03:25:12 PM EST   Updated On: Nov 23 2012 03:39:09 PM EST
Mancelona Michigan
MANCELONA, Mich. -

A pilot has been found dead in the wreckage of his small plane after missing a family gathering on Thanksgiving.

The Antrim County sheriff's office says deputies and state police found the body of 68-year-old Roger Crawford Friday morning in Mancelona, about 140 miles north of Grand Rapids.

Sheriff's officials described Crawford as an experienced pilot "with many years of commercial flight time."

Relatives contacted deputies Thursday night and reported Crawford had not shown up at a family gathering in Frankfort.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro says Crawford's Cessna 310B two-engine propeller plane was flying from Gaylord to Cadillac.

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