Lancair Down in Michigan
Three Dead

The investigation continued Tuesday
into the Memorial Day crash of a Lancair IV-P near Vermontville
Township (MI). All three people on board, including a noted
Canadian biochemist, were killed.

WOOD-TV reports the aircraft crashed on the property of a former
pilot, Roger Gardner, who said he witnessed the Lancair's final
moments.

The Lancair, he said, appeared to have entered a flat spin
seconds before impacting the ground. "He didn't have enough time to
correct it...it happened so fast...it was over with...didn't last
long," he told WOOD.

Robert Matheson was working in his barn near the crash site when
he saw the plane flying overhead.

"I heard an engine race quite fast," he told reporters. "When I
looked out, I saw the plane trying to go up farther in the air. The
next thing I know, it fell below the trees."

The victims were identified as pilot Allen Ward, 52, of Ypsilanti
(MI), 23-year old Jeffrey Chen, of Milford (MI) and Roger Hertz,
36, of Burlington, Ontario.

The Eaton County (MI) Sheriff's Office said the aircraft was on
a flight from Ypsilanti to Billings (MT) when it went down at
around 2:00 pm local time.

Ward's company, Ward Synthesis, was the registered owner of the
aircraft. Ward was president of the company, which had been spun
off from the University of Michigan. The company develops
technology related to flat-screen video displays.

The Canadian passenger, Hertz, was the director of research and
development for Thermo Electron. The company builds laboratory
systems for pharmaceutical and biotech firms. Flags at Thermo's
headquarters in Burlington, Ontario, flew at half-mast Tuesday.

"It was a definite shock to everybody here because he's been
working for this company for 10 years plus, and he started his
career here," said a company spokeswoman, who wouldn't give her
name. "We saw him grow from being an engineer to going right up the
ranks and leading the team."
FAA Preliminary Accident Report

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 707SH Make/Model: LANC
Description: LANCAIR 4P
Date: 05/31/2004 Time: 1800

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
City: GRAND RAPIDS
State: MI Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT AFTER REPORTED UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE, CRASHED,
THREE PERSONS ON
BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED, 20 SE
OF GRAND
RAPIDS, VERMONTVILLE, MI

INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew:
1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0
Min: 0 Unk:
#
Pass: 2 Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min: 0 Unk:
#
Grnd: Fat: 0
Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: GRR 311756Z 25024G29KT 10SM BKN028TCU BKN060 BKN160
21/13 A2943



OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Cruise
Operation: General Aviation

Departed: YPSILANTI,
MI Dep Date:
05/31/2004 Dep. Time: 1730
Destination: BILLINGS, MT
Flt Plan: IFR Wx Briefing: Y
Last Radio Cont: 20SE GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Last Clearance: MAINTAIN 120 BY LAN

FAA FSDO: GRAND RAPIDS, MI
(GL09) Entry date:
06/01/2004
FMI: www.ntsb.gov