Police name victims in Lake of the Ozarks plane crash; 2 dead, 1 in ‘serious condition’
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two people died in a plane crash at the Lake of the Ozarks early Thursday afternoon.
A park ranger found the plane in a treeline at the old golf course between Route KK and Highway 54 near the Grand Glaize Airport, Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Kyle Green said.
The Osage Beach Department said in a Thursday night press release that Hayden Michael Ritchhart, 22, of Carrollton, and Evan R. Vandiver, 19, Richmond, died in the crash.
Gary Vandiver, 54, of Richmond, suffered serious injuries. Vandiver was flown to University Hospital in Columbia and is in serious condition.
Police stated that it is believes that Ritchhart was flying the plane.
According to Federal Aviation Administration online records, a commercial pilot license was issued to a Hayden Michael Ritchhart on March 15. The address for that license was listed as Daytona Beach, Florida.
A witness told Osage Beach police that they saw the plane roll and then start spiraling toward the ground after takeoff at the airport, a police department spokesman said. The police spokesman said two people were discovered dead at the crash site and another was flown from the scene.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the call came in a little after noon and the aircraft was taking off when it crashed. The patrol earlier reported the plane had left Lee Fine Airport but local police and the FAA corrected that, saying it was the Grand Glaize Airport, which is nearby.
The patrol is asking people to avoid the crash area.
At 12:13 p.m. Osage Beach PD advised they had received a report of a possible downed aircraft that had just taken off from Lee C. Fine airport. The aircraft has been located in the treeline at the old golf course between Rt KK and US 54.
— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) July 13, 2023
Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/0neAndoGe6
The aircraft is registered to Jeffrey Adams of Carrollton, Missouri. The Piper PA-28-Cherokee, is a single-engine plane built in 1969, according to FAA records.
The FAA has been notified and Osage Beach police are handling the crash scene, the patrol said.
An FAA spokesperson said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. An NTSB investigator is expected to arrive in Osage Beach on Friday, according to an NTSB spokesperson.
David Huff witnessed the plane go down and was the first person to call the authorities. After coming from McDonald’s he noticed something wasn’t quite right in the sky.
“I was right by the airport,” Huff told ABC 17 News. “ (I) saw the airplane fly over me and it wasn’t gaining altitude it just kept dropping and dropping and dropping and all of a sudden it took a right turn into the ground. into the woods.”
Several agencies responded to the crash but were unable to locate it at first.
“I didn’t think anyone believed me at first,” Huff said. “They believed me, but they were having a hard time finding it. Nobody else called in I guess. No one else saw it.”
Eventually, the plane was found inside the tree line at the Old Oaks Golf Club.
“You know I watched the last few minutes of those folks' lives. It's a little rough right now,” Huff said.
The owner of a restaurant, Jeffrey's Prime Rib & Lobster -- that is within the path of where planes flying out of the Grand Glaize Airport frequently fly over -- said the incident is something he had never before seen.
"This is the absolute first time i've ever heard of anything like it," Jeff Super said. "I've been down here since '83, I've never heard of anything like it right here at this airport."
Super also said he witnessed a large presence of first responders from several agencies in the parking lot of his restaurant, just a few steps away from where the crash occurred. He also noted that he witnessed the victim being taken into a helicopter, shortly after emergency personnel discovered the plane.
"They found the plane and they actually brought a person up on the atv on a stretcher, and then they loaded it into a lake regional hospital helicopter," Super said.
