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Plane Crash Kills Pilot And Wife, Son In Critical Condition

CHARLEVOIX (WWJ) - A plane crash near Charlevoix Friday night killed a pilot who had survived another crash nearly eight years ago.

A colleague says Dr. Stephen Hatch had a passion for flying that propelled him back into the cockpit.

The first crash killed Hatch's wife and two children. His current wife, Kim, died along with him in last night's accident, while his son is listed in critical condition.

According to The Bluff based in Bluffton, Indiana on Sept. 1 2003, Stephen Hatch, was piloting a plane, which crashed just after he radioed to the Fort Wayne International Airport.

Killed in the 2003 crash were his wife Julie L. Hatch, 38, and their children, Lindsay K. Hatch, 11, and Ian M. Hatch, 5, all of Fort Wayne.

Stephen Hatch and his son Austin, who was 8 at the time, survived.

The family was on a trip from Boyne City, Mich., to Fort Wayne, about 290 miles away, when their single-prop 1990 Beechcraft-Bonanza went down, police said. The plane hit a power line during the crash, cutting electricity to several nearby homes in Wells County.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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