RALLS COUNTY, Mo. (WGEM) -
A plane crashed in southern Ralls County, Missouri, Thursday morning, killing two people, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.
MSHP Sgt. Eric Brown said troopers were called to help search for the plane at 11:24 p.m. He said the plane crashed six miles northwest of Laddonia, Missouri.
"Anytime we receive a request for a search and rescue style incident such as this, you always prepare yourself for the worst," Brown said.
According to a news release, Troop F headquarters in Jefferson City, Missouri, was requested by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to help locate a missing aircraft.
MSHP stated the plane left Mexico, Missouri, and was headed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Authorities said crews were able to find the wreckage because of GPS coordinates they were provided.
"Those coordinates were crucial in locating this crash quickly," Brown said. "Even with the coordinates it can be very difficult. As you can tell out here there is no artificial lighting at all, the crash wreckage is very low to the ground, and the soybeans effectively hide it."
MSHP reported the 2003 Zenith 701 single-engine plane was found crashed in a soybean field at 12:56 a.m. Investigators said it was determined the plane crashed early Thursday morning.
"We estimate the time of the crash to actually have occurred around 4:50 in the morning on Thursday," Brown said at the crash site. "So several hours, lots of hours had gone by prior to emergency crews in this area being notified to begin searching for this missing aircraft."
The two occupants, identified as Bobby Faulkner, 41, and Shannon Faulkner, 41, both of Greenwood, Arkansas, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Ralls County coroner, the release stated.
MSHP reported Bobby Faulkner was believed to be the pilot.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration arrived to the crash site Friday to investigate. It's unclear what caused the crash.
Bobby Faulkner was featured in a story by NBC affiliate KNWA, out of Rogers, Arkansas. You can see the story here.
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RALLS COUNTY, Mo. (WLUK) -- Two people on their way to Oshkosh were killed when their plane crashed in Missouri.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center contacted troopers around 11:30 p.m. Thursday to help search for a missing plane. The plane had recently taken off from an airport in Mexico, Missouri.
Just before 1 a.m. Friday, crews found a single-engine plane crashed in a soybean field near Laddonia, Missouri. Both people in the plane were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as Bobby Faulkner and Shannon Faulkner, both 41, of Greenwood, Arkansas.
Investigators believe Bobby Faulkner was the pilot.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been called in to investigate.
Officials did not say whether the plane was headed to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture.
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The ability to fly comes in all shapes and sizes. On Adventure Arkansas, we’ve flown planes, helicopters, flyboards, parasails all over, but it’s time to add another aerial object for us to see the beauty of the Natural State.
Greenwood pilot Bobby Faulkner took our 5NEWS crew up into the skies on a Powered Parachute in this week's Adventure Arkansas.
"There’s nothing like it," Faulkner said. "I mean when you’re up in the air your troubles are behind you and you’re just free."
First we made sure everything was good to go on the ground. Then, with Bobby in the driver’s seat, Jay Plyburn, Krystle Sherrell and Sean Bailey each took off to soak in the sights from new heights.
"That’s the most exciting part," Faulkner said. "I love taking people up for the first time. They were just like you and screaming and hollering and saying, 'Oh I can’t believe this!'I haven’t taken anyone yet who hasn’t enjoyed this."
We got to about 800 feet up, flying over pastures and fields all with the Ouachitas, Sugar Loaf Mountain and Cavanaugh Hill in the distance. The humidity was not our friend though
"We could probably see 75-80 miles on a good, clear day but of course we are having a lot of humidity now," he explained.
While going as high as possible was fun, spiraling back down when the fan was turned off was the biggest thrill. Of course we had to come back down to earth after having our head in the clouds.
To fly a powered parachute, you would need a sports pilot license, which includes 12 hours of flight time training.
If you would like to see sights over the River Valley, call Faulkner at 479-719-9153 to set up a flight.
Date: 27-JUL-2017
Time: 23:30
Type:
Zenair CH 701 SP
Owner/operator: Private
Registration: N701XL
C/n / msn: 7-4618
Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location: Ralls County, MI -
United States of America Phase: En route
Nature: Private
Departure airport: Mexico Mem'l (KMYJ)
Destination airport: Wittman Rgn'l (KOSH)
Narrative:
The experimental Smith built CH 701 SP, sustained substantial damage upon impact in a soybean NW of Laddonia and E of Mexico, Missouri, enroute to EAA Adventure 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Both occupants died in the crash.
Sources:
http://fox11online.com/news/local/fox-cities/oshkosh-bound-plane-crashes-in-missouri-2-dead
http://www.mexicoledger.com/news/20170728/breaking-two-die-in-ralls-county-plane-crash
http://www.wgem.com/story/35994929/2017/07/Friday/2-killed-in-ralls-county-plane-crash
http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:95:733652478614::NO::P95_EVENT_LCL_DATE,P95_LOC_CITY_NAME,P95_REGIST_NBR:27-JUL-17,MEXICO,N701XL
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Prairie+View+Rd,+Laddonia,+MO+63352/@39.3594043,-91.6804369,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x87ddad63f0b5f009:0xb93d1419d1a682a5?hl=en-us
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N701XL
http://zenair.com