Six people, including three children, were killed when their small plane crashed into the Superstition Mountains outside Phoenix Wednesday night as they were making a Thanksgiving trip, according to The Arizona Republic.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2011/11/24/20111124arizona-plane-crash-update.html
Investigators haven’t determined what caused the dreadful crash, which took place in Apache Junction. The plane’s fuselage burned brightly, and was stuck between two rocks on what is known as the “Flat Iron” portion of the mountain range.
Several dozen rescuers had a difficult time getting to the location because of the rough terrain, but when they did there were no survivors.
The victims aboard the Rockwell AC69 plane were: mechanic Joseph Hardwick, 22; pilot and plane owner Russell Hardy, 31; pilot Shawn Perry, 39; and his three kids, Morgan, 9, Logan, 8, and Luke, 6.
According to The Republic, the children’s mother, Karen Perry, was told of the deaths Wednesday night. She is a pilot herself. Hardwick was engaged, with a wedding date set for Dec. 16.
Perry and his three children had been en route to Safford, Ariz., for Thanksgiving after taking off from Falcon Field in Mesa at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, The Republic reported. Their plane crashed just 15 minutes later.
Perry had apparently flown from Safford to Mesa to pick up his children, and was returning to Safford when the accident took place.
Authorities believe that the plane was flying at about 200 mph at the point when it hit the mountain, according to The Republic. The paper also identified Hardy as the co-owner of Ponderosa Aviation, which is located in Safford and owned the plant that crashed.
The accident scene was so steep and treacherous to get to that investigators had to be dropped by helicopter onto the mountain top, and then make their way down to the wreckage, The Republic reported.