MARCH 31, 2015
PLEASANTON, KS (KCTV)
Two people have been killed in a small plane crash near
Pleasanton, KS, Tuesday afternoon.
The Kansas Highway Patrol is on scene and says it happened
on South Ross Lane near East 1175th Road in the Linn County city.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the crash
involved a red and white Zenith Zodiac CH601 XL. These are experimental amateur-built planes
and there have been crashes of these planes in the past.
The publisher and editor of the Linn County News said the
aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from a private airstrip. Jackie
Taylor arrived at the scene about 4:30 p.m. to find the Kansas Highway Patrol
and other agencies battling flames.
She said it's a small community and everyone knows everyone,
especially in the flying community.
“Everyone's freaking out that it's someone they know,”
Taylor said.
The type of aircraft that crashed is a Zenith model, an
experimental plane. It's a small
aircraft that someone would build themselves. The FAA has to approve it and
comes out to inspect it at various points during the building process,
especially before the first flight.
A local pilot says it takes about a year or longer to build
an experimental plane such as this type. She said they are very safe (yah, sure, man) and not much different than
an aircraft coming off the assembly line (this guy must be joking).
Pleasanton is located just over 60 miles south of the Kansas
City metro.
Source:www.kctv.com