Four men from Waukesha County, Wisconsin, were killed when their twin-engine plane crashed near the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kinross Township Monday, August 14, at 9 a.m. Low visibility was reported at the time, and prison employees said it looked like the plane was swerving to avoid the prison when it crashed. No other casualties were reported.

The crash took the life of 23year-old pilot Nicholas Gerger and passengers James Wehr, 47, Mike Wralstead, 59, and Dan Nagy, 30. Michigan State Police at the Sault Ste. Marie post confirmed the names of the victims. All of the men worked for Spancrete Industries, Inc. a company that produces precast concrete products. They were on their way to Canada on a business trip.

The plane narrowly missed the housing units of cells containing prisoners in the administrative segregation area of the prison. This is the highest security wing in which the prisoners are held 23 hours a day, said Russ Marlan, a Department of Corrections spokesman in Lansing.

Had the prison been hit, the result would have been "devastating," he said, not only because it would have compromised the security of the prison, but owing to the fact that it would have led to "a loss of life on the part of both prisoners and staff."

The facility holds more than 1,100 prisoners and employs 510 staff members on all three shifts.

The plane hit a buffer fence only 20 feet from the prison's secure perimeter, which is a the "true perimeter" composed of a large fence complete with razor wire, Mr. Marlan added.

The plane hit so close to the prison, he said, that when it burst into flames, all prisoners out of their cells at the time were brought inside to avoid smoke and gas inhalation. The windows to the prison were closed, also.

Prison staff reported that the plane was swerving to avoid the prison when it crashed, Mr. Marlan said.

"The staff acted quickly and very appropriately," he added. "They did an emergency count and notified authorities,"

The prison houses inmates of medium as well as maximum security status, so many outside at the time of the crash were likely on work assignments or on their way to a meal, Mr. Marlan said.

The Michigan State Police in Sault Ste. Marie turned the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration Monday evening. The National Transportation Safety Board began investigating early Tuesday morning to determine the cause of the crash.