The Brief The cause of a crash that killed a beloved Dearborn man and community leader has been revealed by the NTSB. Flight instructor Kevin Kreger died after his single-engine plane crashed in 2024 while he was teaching a student. The NTSB said the plane had enough fuel, but a fuel selector setting cut off gas to the engine, causing the crash.



The National Travel and Safety Board has released the findings of a plane crash that killed a flight instructor and injured his student near Ann Arbor.

The backstory:

Kevin Kreger was killed when his single-engine plane crashed in Clinton near Lima Center Road and Michigan Avenue on June 10, 2024.

Kreger, 46, and his student did not run out of fuel in their Piper PA-28-140 that departed Ann Arbor Municipal Airport, that day - but the setting of a fuel selector handle did cut off power to the engine, the report found.

 The fuel selector handle and valve were found between the Left Tank and Off positions, which would have prevented fuel flow,  the NTSB findings revealed.  The entire fuel system forward of the fuel selector contained either no or trace amounts of fuel. 

The report said that Kreger, who was conducting an instructional flight, may have discovered a reduction in engine power.

He contacted air traffic control to return to the airport, but did not report any difficulties.

Airplane Fuel Selector Handle

From the NTSB report - an artist rendering of how the fuel selector handle was found between settings.

Dig deeper:

Flight history of the plane showed it had been fueled to 36 gallons, or 18 gallons per fuel tank, two days before the final flight.

In between that span, it was estimated to still have 27 gallons of fuel remaining, according to the report which can be read HERE.

 After the selected fuel tank was depleted, the fuel selector was inadvertently moved past the Left Tank detent toward the Off position during an attempt to restore engine power, which prevented fuel in the left tank from reaching the engine,  the report said.

NTSB report diagram showing the plane's flight path.

It is unclear if Kreger or the st

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