Divers pull doctor’s body from Lake Michigan; 4th victim in medical flight crash still missing

1 more of 4 killed in Lake Michigan crash found

LUDINGTON, Mich. — The body of a doctor killed when a medical flight crashed into Lake Michigan last month has been found, but the search continues for the plane’s co-pilot, authorities said Sunday.

The small plane was headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., with a cancer patient and four others on board when it developed mechanical problems and crashed July 23. The 66-year-old pilot, Jerry Freed, was the only survivor and was rescued that day.

Bodies belonging to Alma school superintendent and cancer patient Don Pavlik and his wife, Irene, were recovered Friday, and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said a third body was recovered Saturday night. A medical examiner told the Ludington Daily News on Sunday the body had been identified as Dr. James Hall.

Co-pilot Earl Davidson remains missing.

All on board lived in Alma, a central Michigan town 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

The Cessna 206 took off from there about 9 a.m. Less than an hour later, Freed reported mechanical problems to the air traffic control tower in Minneapolis, said the Federal Aviation Administration, which was investigating the crash.