ZEELAND TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 1, 2025) – We’re learning more about the circumstances that led to the death of an 80-year-old Zeeland Township man in a plane crash near his home on Sunday.
Ottawa Executive Airport officials and neighbors told WOOD-TV that Robert Fidler had built a Lancair 360 craft from kits in hangers at the facility off of Byron Road east of I-196. Federal Aviation Administration records indicated that the fixed-wing, two-seat plane was built in 2022, and was deemed airworthy about a year later. Mr. Fidler, known as a accomplished pilot, was seen guiding the craft in a video that was shot last August.
The plane had just taken off when it crashed just before 11 AM. Any initial findings by Ottawa County Sheriff’s Deputies and Zeeland Township Fire Department crews will be turned over to the FAA, who will take over the investigation into this matter. Funeral arrangements for Mr. Fidler are pending.
It was the second crash at Ottawa Executive Airport this year, after two unnamed persons escaped injury following an April 8th incident when a Cessna 180 went off of the runway while attempting to land and flipped over onto its wings. Back in September of 2020, 61-year-old Dale Deweese and his 59-year-old wife Joyce, also from Zeeland Township, lost their lives when their Myerley RV9A craft crashed shortly after taking off.
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