Pilot, Several People On Boats Suffered Minor Injuries

The pilot of a Piper PA-18 Super Cub on floats sustained minor injuries when the plane struck three boats anchored on Upper Straits Lake in Oakland County, MI Saturday.

The FAA reports that the aircraft was attempting to land on the water when the accident occurred. Video of the incident captured by a witness shows the plane traveling at a high rate of speed when it impacted the pontoon boats anchored near the shore. It then went aground on a sandbar, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

The pilot, identified only as a 41-year-old man from Redford Township, MI, suffered minor injuries to his leg. A 29-year-old woman from Rochester Hills who was a passenger on board the airplane was not injured. The FAA reports that two people on the ground also sustained minor injuries.

Orchard Lake police said that alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident.

FAA records indicated that the plane was registered to Biam Inc. of Redford, MI. The airplane was manufactured in 1974, and was last certified as airworthy in March of 2018.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: Source report