A man and his son died in a plane crash that happened sometime after 10 p.m. Thursday night (Sept. 20) south of Festus.
The crash occurred while the father was attempting to land at the Festus Airport, authorities reported.
Authorities have not yet released the victims’ names.
Mike Bippen, vice president of the Citizens for Airport Economic Expansion that operates the airport, said the two men were the only ones in the plane.
“The son was about 20 – I don’t know the father’s age,” Bippen said. “They had just purchased the plane in New York and flew it here. They’re from here. I believe (the father) was going to restore the plane.”
He said no one was at the airport other than the father's friend, who was there to pick up the two men after they landed.
Authorities identified the friend as the father’s fiancée, who was communicating with the father as he was trying to land.
“From what I understand, he (the pilot) did a ‘touch and go,’” Bippen said. “He didn’t like the landing, flew off to circle around and try again. (The crash) was south of the airport near Plattin Creek.”
Marshak said the woman waiting at the airport told authorities she received text messages from her fiance while he was trying to land.
“From what we know, the female was texting back and forth with her fiance,” Marshak said. “She reported her fiance was returning from New York with a plane he had purchased. He wanted her to provide some lights at the end of the runway. He asked her to bring some lights. She brought flashlights.
“He attempted to land and touched down and took off again. Then, she didn’t have any more contact with him. She believed he went to another airport. She didn’t know there had been a crash. She called the Crystal City Police a short time later, and the call was later transferred to us. We immediately attempted to locate him through his cell phone by pinging towers. The last location was a quarter mile from a cell tower near CC Highway.”
Marshak said authorities immediately began a search that included a helicopter, but wet weather conditions forced the helicopter to land.
“As soon as it cleared up this morning, helicopters went back up,” he said. “I believe it was a Mercy Jefferson (hospital) helicopter that found it (the crashed plane).”
Bippen stressed that the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were not expected to arrive on scene until at least noon today and their investigations had not yet begun, so information about the crash has not been confirmed.
Bippen said the airport has runway lights that are controlled by pilots through their instruments. If the plane was having mechanical problems, Bippen said, the pilot may have not been able to turn on the runway lights, but at this point that is “speculation.”