Pilot Error, Overloading Caused Michigan Crash That Killed 5

A small plane crashed in the west of Capital Region International Airport near Lansing, Mich., on Oct. 3, 2019. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP

DEWITT TOWNSHIP, Mich.—Federal investigators blame pilot error and an overloaded aircraft for a 2019 plane crash near a Michigan airport that killed five Indiana men and seriously injured a sixth person aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report on the Oct. 3, 2019, crash that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed during his final approach to the Capital Region International Airport, near Lansing.