- Date
- 1985-04-19
- Kind
- Accident
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Participants
- Richard Wierenga (victim) · William Wierenga (victim) · Eli Coates (victim) · Steve Zonnebelt (victim) · Robert Vandermullen (victim) · Linda Vandermullen (victim) · Joshua Vandermullen (victim)
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- disastertransportationcommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
On April 19, 1985, an aircraft approaching Beaver Island from Holland, Michigan crashed into trees south of the township airport. The May Beaver Beacon names seven fatalities: Richard Wierenga and his son William; Eli Coates; Steve Zonnebelt; and Robert Vandermullen, his wife Linda, and their son Joshua.
The account says island residents noticed a flash, the Federal Aviation Administration called Fire Chief Tim McDonough early the next morning, and Coast Guard helicopters located the wreckage and led Beaver Island volunteers to it. The wreckage was spread over roughly 200 yards, and FAA and manufacturer inspectors examined the site. The newspaper says the cause was not known at the time.
Evidence and limits
This record preserves the contemporaneous reported crash, fatalities, family descriptions, approximate airport-side location, and response. It does not identify the aircraft type or registration, establish exact coordinates, name all responders, or substitute the newspaper account for an FAA investigation. The article’s references to the fire department’s forty-eight hours of work and the deputy coroner’s pronouncements are reported community testimony, not a complete incident log or civil-record file.
Open questions
- What aircraft, registration, and official accident report correspond to this crash?
- Can an FAA or NTSB record establish the cause, exact site, and aircraft occupants independently of the newspaper?
- Are there cemetery, civil, or memorial records that document the seven deaths without importing unverified biographical details?
Sources
- Remote high-quality OCR derivative used for discovery and quotation checking; the held PDF remains authoritative. It names Richard and William Wierenga, Eli Coates, Steve Zonnebelt, Robert Vandermullen, Linda Vandermullen, and Joshua Vandermullen, and describes the Coast Guard helicopter and volunteer response. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1985-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Held PDF of the issue. The report says seven people traveling from Holland, Michigan died when their plane crashed into trees south of the township airport on April 19; it does not identify the aircraft, registration, exact coordinates, or official cause. The held nineteen-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and does not expand source-specific claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1985-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reprints Sheriff George T. Lasater's May 1 commendation of Fire Chief Tim McDonough, the Volunteer Fire Department, and the Ladies Auxiliary for their professional response and refreshments during the aircraft accident. It is a public commendation, not a complete incident log or independent emergency-services evaluation. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1985-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held nineteen-page June issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR source and confirms the sheriff''s commendation.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1985-06_Beaver-Beacon
Added 2 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island aircraft crash kills seven near the township airport, 1985”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-aircraft-crash-seven-fatalities-1985/, accessed [date], citing Project remote Chandra OCR, Beaver Beacon, May 1985, “Plane Crashes on Beaver Island.” (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Beaver Island aircraft crash kills seven near the township airport, 1985”RIS for “Beaver Island aircraft crash kills seven near the township airport, 1985”