BREAKING NEWS
Three found dead at crash site
The
wreckage of a crashed airplane with three occupants has been confirmed
to be that of a flight reported missing from Falcon Field Airport in
Mesa, Ariz.
The
wreckage of the airplane was spotted Saturday morning (Sept. 15) northwest of
Strawberry, Ariz. by an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter
that was involved in search and rescue operations. The plane is in a
rugged section of Calf Pen Canyon northwest of Strawberry, Ariz.
Three
bodies were found after search and rescue personnel from Gila County
Sheriff’s Department reached the crash site, which was in a remote,
rugged location accessible only on ground.
Confirmation
matching the identity of the occupants to those of a missing flight is
pending further investigation. The occupants of the missing flight are:
Taylor Bennell, instructor; Lucas Westenberg, student pilot; and Rob Van
Den Heuvel, passenger.
Search
and rescue resources had been looking for a 1999 Piper Archer owned by
CAE Global Academy, Mesa, since it was reported missing Thursday
evening.
The
airplane was on a training flight and left Falcon Field Airport shortly
after 2 p.m. Sept. 13. The flight was scheduled to fly to Winslow,
Ariz., then south to Payson, Ariz. before returning to Mesa.
1 comment:
My friend and I fly this route (Winslow to Payson) often in our homebuilt airplane. We're usually at 8500 feet crossing the rim to Payson because the surrounding terrain is about 7500 feet. Since the "pattern altitude" at the Payson airport is higher than Calf Pen Canyon, it appears this group purposely went low, flying into the canyon to sight see. Not wise.
I know one other person who did the same in this area years ago. He too crashed. (But survived.) Flying is safe if the pilot is safe.
Post a Comment