Wolverines men's basketball team to the Big Ten Conference men's basketball Tournament, abandoned takeoff and skidded off the runway in high winds. The plane suffered extensive damage and some of the players suffered minor injuries but no serious injuries or fatalities were reported. The team arrived late and initially had to play in practice gear (their regular uniforms, like all other luggage, had to remain on the plane as part of the NTSB investigation) but went on to win the tournament. In December 2017, the American Center for Mobility opened their autonomous vehicle proving ground, Technology Park, at the airport. The center's test tracks utilizes a vacated 2.5-mile portion of the former Willow Run Expressway, including its two double overpasses. Accidents and incidents On June 8, 1993, a Beech E18S impacted terrain after takeoff from Willow Run. Witnesses report there was no indication of an engine fire or failure but that it sounded like the pilot was "on the throttles." The probable cause was found to be the pilot's inadequate preflight preparation, which caused him to turn off the attitude indicator and become disoriented in fog and low clouds. On December 22, 2003, a Sikorsky S-58JT helicopter was destroyed when it impacted light poles and the ground during landing at the Willow Run Airport. The pilot reported that, reported that approximately 40 knots airspeed and 70 feet above the ground, "there was an abrupt boom and pitch of the aircraft followed by a right forward rapid decent with a very large horizontal one-to-one out of balance oscillation." Though the pilot attempted to apply all available collective pitch, the aircraft impacted the ground, rolled, and flipped over. The probable cause was found to be pilot disorientation, causing him to attempt to land on the wrong ramp and therefore impact light poles while on approach. On May 19, 2005, a Piper PA-32 collided with a taxiway sign during its landing roll at Willow Run Airport. The pilot reported he applied right rudder and left rudder in his landing flare to compensate for a crosswind, and while he touched down on centerline, the airplane began drifting to the right as the nosewheel touched down despite the crosswind inputs. Then, the pilot applied full left rudder to compensate, but the aircraft veered off the runway. The reason for the pilot's loss of directional control could not be determined. On March 8, 2017, a McDonnell-Douglas