Suburban Pilot Killed In Plane Crash

Rafael Romo

(CBS) An experienced suburban pilot is killed in an icing accident, and his family has many questions.

They want to know why his plane went down as he was trying to land at the Otsego Airport in North Central Michigan and why he was flying in such horrible weather. CBS 2’s Rafael Romo reports that the family wants some answers.

An entire family mourns the death of a Skokie pilot who died when his twin-engine plane crashed on Wednesday.

“That’s my baby brother. That’s my son, my baby. That’s everything for me,” the victim’s brother, Salim Polis, says of his family’s grief.

Thirty-year-old Suhel Polis, a cargo plane pilot, crashed as he was trying to land in snowy weather in Northern Michigan.

“We want to know why, why the owner of the company let the pilot fly in this kind of weather. Until now, we don't have the answer,” said Salim Polis.

“And he flew from Grand Rapids, Gaylord, to Trevor City daily on a carrier flight out of Grand Rapids,” a Michigan sheriff said.

Ron Hart and his two children heard the crash and immediately called 911.

But when they saw the crash scene, they realized there was very little anybody could do for the pilot.

“The fuel had come out of the wings and was on the trees, so the trees were burning from the bottom to the tops and there was just a big fireball,” Hart said.

Polis, an immigrant from Iraq, had recently earned his flight instructor’s license.

He was delivering small packages and bundles of checks when the accident happened.

“My brother, he was an angel,” said Salim Polis. “He's very nice guy. He's honest and a hard worker.”

Suhel worked for the Central Air Southwest Company, where no one was available for comment Friday night.

The Federal Aviation Administration is now in charge of investigating the crash.    from this link