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Neighbors recount moments plane crashed into Lyon Township home

Posted at 7:56 PM, Jan 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-04 20:52:26-05

LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich- (WXYZ) — "I’m still in shock," said mother Danielle Mudzwova of the moment a plane hit her home. "I Feel like this is a movie. It's not real.”

Two days later and it still doesn't feel real for Mudzwova. On Saturday a plane fell from the sky, crashing into the family's home as she, her husband and two kids sat inside.

"By some miracle, we were all together in the living room," Mudzwova said. "They (kids) were still. They weren’t running around, we were all together."

The plane that hit her home burst into flames almost instantly, engulfing the entire side of her house. It destroyed the bedrooms of her 2- and 4-year-old's, the spot where they usually sleep.

"Maybe a half an hour before they came down from naps," Mudzwova said. "So in all honesty they should have been on that side of the house.”

“I can’t tell you enough Brett how many people in my subdivision, we all discussed this, it was only a matter of time," said neighbor Jeff Eason."

Eason has lived in the neighboring subdivision for nearly 15 years. He says air traffic is constant and helicopters constantly circle overhead. In the past few years, the neighborhood association has sent in written complaints to the airport and the FAA, including a letter in 2019. They not only worried about noise, but safety.

“I was aware that there was an airport here when we moved here," Eason said. "But with all of the new construction going on around here it's almost looks like the residential area is putting a squeeze on the airport.”

"The thought of an airplane crashing just never entered my mind,” said Michael Woodcock, who has lived next to the airport for 45 years. The airport has been there since World War II. Woodcock is also a pilot, and the crash hits close to home.

“It's terrible because particularly, I used to work for this guy,” he said.

Woodcock not only knows flying, he knew the pilot David Compo. Woodcock's nephew Jason saw the moments the plane went down.

“My heart dropped," Jason Woodcock said of the moment he saw the plane wobbling in the sky over the neighborhood. "I knew something bad was about to happen... Being in the military, that's not a good feeling.”

With low hanging clouds, flying conditions were not ideal. After seeing the plane fall from the sky, Jason ran to the scene but it was too late.

"That was horrible," Jason said of the scene. "As soon as I got there the plane was already engulfed and there was nothing I could do.”

Michael Woodcock says the airport has been here a long time, and feels Saturday was purely an accident no one could’ve predicted.

"This is a once in a lifetime thing that happens. I never thought I'd see something like this,” Michael said. "It (the airport) is safe. This is one time in 50 years.”

As the investigation continues, family and friends are left grieving. Neighbors are still left in shock, and one family is left without a home, and feels lucky to still have their lives.

"I’m still trying to process it," Danielle Mudzwova said. "I’m so heartbroken for the people who were lost in the plane. It’s just a lot. I don’t know how we are so lucky and other people are not like that."