Nov 15, 2021

Michigan plane crash kills couple who planned to open winery

A plane crashed Nov. 13 at Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan, killing four of the five people aboard, including Kate Leese and Adam Kendall, a couple who planted a vineyard and dreamed of opening a winery there.

According to the Detroit News, the 1:30 p.m. flight was headed to Welke Airport on Beaver Island from Charlevoix, said Lt. William Church of the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office.

The pilot, who has not been identified by authorities, and passenger Mike Perdue of Gaylord, a real estate agent, also died as a result of the crash, Church said. Perdue’s daughter, 11, was the fourth passenger on the plane and sustained serious injuries.

Leese, 35, a biochemist who grew up in Charlevoix, and Kendall, 37, an attorney and Jackson native, recently moved to Beaver Island after traveling the country for years.

The Detroit News had reported on the couple’s winegrape production and winery plans in a story it published just a little over a week ago.