Skydivers’ Plane Nosedives; 6 Dead
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
SULLIVAN, Mo. — Investigators said yesterday that engine failure apparently caused a plane carrying skydivers to nosedive soon after takeoff, killing six people, including a man who was a member of the U.S. Parachute Team and had made thousands of jumps.
A witness to the crash, which also left two others badly injured, saw the airplane’s right engine burst into flames shortly after it took off Saturday afternoon, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Ed Malinowski, said.
A preliminary report on the crash won’t be ready until today and a final report is expected to take at least six months, he said.
Witnesses told police that the plane, a DeHavilland DHC–6 Twin Otter, sounded as though it had engine trouble soon after taking off from the airport in Sullivan, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis.
Lisa Whitaker, 41, said she was lounging in her father’s pool when she heard the plane’s engines overhead. When the engines went silent, Ms. Whitaker looked skyward to see the aircraft speeding toward her over the nearby trees.
