3
350DRIVER
Airplane crash kills two men in Greenbrier
By Jamie Henline
Staff Writer Two men were killed Sunday after their small airplane crashed on a mountain in Greenbrier County.
The Beechcraft King Air 200, a 10-person twin-engine plane, went down in a wooded area on Big Mountain, about half a mile outside the Rupert town limits.
The plane took off from Summersville at about 8:15 a.m. and was headed for Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg, according to State Police 1st Sgt. J.L. Cahill, who was heading the investigation Sunday.
Cahill would not identify the two crash victims until their families were notified.
He said the two pilots were on their way to pick up passengers in Lewisburg to fly them to Charlotte, N.C. He said the men were killed on impact.
The flight from Summersville to Lewisburg takes about 15 minutes. Cahill said employees from Rader Aviation Co., which owns the Summersville airport, contacted State Police at 10:50 a.m. after their plane didn’t land on time.
Two planes from Rader Aviation and a State Police helicopter assisted in the search.
About 34 West Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol personnel were in the middle of a training exercise when they got the called about the crash.
“It basically went from a training mission to an actual search mission,” said Jeff Schrock, spokesman for West Virginia’s Air Force auxiliary unit.
A Greenbrier Valley Airport employee said she had heard a low-flying plane from her home near Big Mountain, said another airport employee who did not want to be named. The crash site was found on the mountain shortly afterward.
The State Police helicopter led emergency workers to the crash site.
Capt. Joseph Coughlin of the Rupert Volunteer Fire Department said the searchers had to drive some very rough roads to get to the crash site, and they hiked the last half a mile.
After they found the wreckage, some searchers cut a trail so all-terrain vehicles could reach the crash site.
Cahill said there was “massive debris” covering the area.
He said the bodies were sent to the State Medical Examiners Office in South Charleston.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators will visit the crash site this morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To contact staff writer Jamie Henline, use e-mail or call 348-3053.
Sad to hear these things...
Anyone familiar with the charter company Rader?
3 5 0
By Jamie Henline
Staff Writer Two men were killed Sunday after their small airplane crashed on a mountain in Greenbrier County.
The Beechcraft King Air 200, a 10-person twin-engine plane, went down in a wooded area on Big Mountain, about half a mile outside the Rupert town limits.
The plane took off from Summersville at about 8:15 a.m. and was headed for Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg, according to State Police 1st Sgt. J.L. Cahill, who was heading the investigation Sunday.
Cahill would not identify the two crash victims until their families were notified.
He said the two pilots were on their way to pick up passengers in Lewisburg to fly them to Charlotte, N.C. He said the men were killed on impact.
The flight from Summersville to Lewisburg takes about 15 minutes. Cahill said employees from Rader Aviation Co., which owns the Summersville airport, contacted State Police at 10:50 a.m. after their plane didn’t land on time.
Two planes from Rader Aviation and a State Police helicopter assisted in the search.
About 34 West Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol personnel were in the middle of a training exercise when they got the called about the crash.
“It basically went from a training mission to an actual search mission,” said Jeff Schrock, spokesman for West Virginia’s Air Force auxiliary unit.
A Greenbrier Valley Airport employee said she had heard a low-flying plane from her home near Big Mountain, said another airport employee who did not want to be named. The crash site was found on the mountain shortly afterward.
The State Police helicopter led emergency workers to the crash site.
Capt. Joseph Coughlin of the Rupert Volunteer Fire Department said the searchers had to drive some very rough roads to get to the crash site, and they hiked the last half a mile.
After they found the wreckage, some searchers cut a trail so all-terrain vehicles could reach the crash site.
Cahill said there was “massive debris” covering the area.
He said the bodies were sent to the State Medical Examiners Office in South Charleston.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators will visit the crash site this morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To contact staff writer Jamie Henline, use e-mail or call 348-3053.
Sad to hear these things...
Anyone familiar with the charter company Rader?
3 5 0
