Authorities confirmed that the private jet that crashed in Bath Township on Thursday evening had departed from Battle Creek Executive Airport at Kellogg Field for a test flight following maintenance work.
The Hawker 800XP, a twin-engine business jet owned by Aereo Lineas del Centro SA and registered XA-JMR, went down around 17:00 on October 16 near Clark and Peacock Roads, killing all three people on board.
According to Phil Kroll, Aviation Director at Kellogg Field, the aircraft had recently undergone maintenance and was airborne to test its systems when the incident occurred. “They were just testing out some systems and that’s when the problem occurred,” Kroll said.
Emergency crews responded quickly to reports of smoke and debris at the crash site, but Bath Township Police later confirmed that none of the occupants survived.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is leading the investigation alongside local authorities to determine the cause of the crash, which remains unknown.
Following reports of a Hawker 800 crash in Bath, Michigan (US). According to @AviationSafety “ADS-B data shows that the airplane entered a sudden descent from an altitude of 14,775 ft and crashed within 30 seconds.” Jet was registered as “XA-JMR”. Updates when possible. pic.twitter.com/1Z8voiCr4C
— Air Safety #OTD by Francisco Cunha (@OnDisasters) October 16, 2025