ALMA, Mich. (AP) — The pilot who was the lone survivor of a small plane crash in Lake Michigan in July says the dedication of a monument to those who died helps bring closure.

The Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant reports the dedication was Saturday at Wright Park in Alma, located in mid-Michigan.

Investigators say the plane’s engine lost power July 23 about 10,000 feet above the middle of Lake Michigan while heading from Alma to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Pilot Jerry Freed reversed course but crashed about five miles from Ludington.

Freed, of Alma, had volunteered to fly Don Pavlik, the Alma schools superintendent who was to receive cancer treatment, to Rochester. The other victims were Pavlik’s wife, Irene, Dr. James Hall, and co-pilot and retired construction company owner Earl Davidson.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)