Sioux Falls plane crash victims finally identified
December 15, 2011, 04:40 pm
A small plane leaving the Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota recently nosedived into the ground and burst into flames, trapping and killing the four passengers inside.
According to Fargo-Moorhead news provider KFGO, the Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said the Cessna 421-C was experiencing problems shortly after taking off from the Joe Foss Field on its way to Rapid City, and started to circle back to the airport. But the problems intensified and the plane slammed into the ground before returning.
Sioux Falls police identified the four individuals who died in the crash as Brian Blake, Kevin Anderson, Joshua Lambrecht and Daniel Swets, a computer science associate professor at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. Swets was on his way to a robotics meeting when the plane crashed, the source reported.
The Sioux Falls Fire Chief Jim Sideras told The Associated Press that they have yet to uncover what problems the plane was experiencing at the time of the crash. The plane was badly damaged from the collision and ensuing flames, leaving little evidence behind.
"Right now, it's a shell of a plane," said Sideras. "It's essentially just a charred area right now. That amount of fire is not survivable."
The severity of the crash illustrates a need for pilot insurance to protect form any unexpected problems or malfunctions that can lead to expensive medical bills or repairs.
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