- Dates
- 2001-02-08 – 2001-02-09
- Kind
- Disaster
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- disasteremergency-managementtransportationcommunitycommunication
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
On February 8, 2001, a chartered aircraft carrying Mirth Gault and her children crashed into a cedar bog southwest of Beaver Island’s County Airport; pilot Curtis Logan and co-pilot Steve Erhart died. Islanders began a search that night, regional responders joined the next morning, and Paul Welke located the family so a Coast Guard helicopter could take them to Charlevoix Hospital.
Evidence limits
This newspaper account documents the response and reported injuries but is not an aviation-investigation file or complete casualty record.
Sources
- Reports a February 8 crash southwest of the County Airport, the overnight island search by fire, EMS, deputies, citizens, Coast Guard, and other responders, Paul Welke’s sighting, helicopter rescue, hospital treatment, and Mirth Gault’s thanks. 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 · 2001-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue scan confirms the crash and rescue report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2001-03_Beaver-Beacon
Added 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Islanders and regional responders rescue the Gault family after a February 8, 2001 plane crash”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-gault-plane-crash-and-rescue-february-8-2001/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 2001, “The Gaults Survive Tragedy” and “To our Beloved Islanders.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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