‘Compassionate’ Couple and 2 Dogs Killed in Michigan Plane Crash
Randy Strebig and Allison Wheaton, who married in September after 18 years together, died when their single-engine plane crashed after taking off Sunday morning
A married Indiana couple and their two dogs died in a single-engine plane crash Sunday morning in western Michigan, authorities said.
Michigan State Police (MSP) confirmed in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that a 43-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were killed when their fixed-wing aircraft crashed after taking off from the Mason County Airport in Ludington, which is located about 100 miles north of Grand Rapids.
Authorities later released the names of the victims — Allison Wheaton and Randy Strebig — according to Fort Wayne, Indiana affiliate WPTA-TV.
After visiting family in the Ludington area over the weekend, the couple was headed to Albuquerque International Sunport Airport in New Mexico, a Federal Aviation Administration public affairs specialist the The Detroit News.
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The plane — identified by the National Transportation Safety Board as a Socata TBM 700 — banked hard to the north following takeoff. It then crashed into a field, bursting into flames, The Herald Republican reported.
Multiple agencies, including the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Life EMS, Ludington Fire and Hamlin Township Fire, responded to the crash, MSP wrote on X. They added that Wheaton, Strebig and their two pets were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to The Herald Republican, authorities are investigating if snow and low visibility at the time could have played a role in the crash.
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Friends of the couple told the newspaper that they will miss the thrill-seeking Strebig, who loved barefoot skiing and pursuing extreme sports like skydiving, and Wheaton, who was known for her love of animals, especially horses.
Those in the fly-in aviation community shared a tribute to the couple who were married in September after 18 years together. “They were also known for being kind, compassionate, and charitable individuals who were always willing to jump in at a moment’s notice to get things done,” International Seaplane Fly-In wrote on Facebook.
“Randy and Allison were longtime friends of ours,” business partner Chuck Walker told The Herald Republican. “And the easiest way to sum up all of the things I could say about them is that they were givers in our society, and if you got to know them you were better off for it. We will miss them.”
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