Federal investigators arrive at scene of Lake of the Ozarks plane crash
Video from the scene of the removal of wreckage
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (KMIZ)
The first federal officials have arrived at the scene of a plane crash in Osage Beach that killed two people Thursday.
Federal Aviation Administration officials were at the crash site Friday morning and National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived later in the morning.
NTSB investigator Mike Hodges said Friday that investigators were documenting and examining the wreckage.
“Typically when we go to the accident site, we're just documenting you know, the location and where it's at,” Hodges told ABC 17 News. “We do a flight control continuity check. We look at the airframe fuel system. We examine the engine, examine the propeller. Those are just some of the basic top-level areas we look at when we're looking at the actual wreckage itself.”
Crews were slowly picking through pieces of the cockpit and taking photos along the way. The plane that crashed was a Piper PA-28-Cherokee. Air safety investigators from Piper Aircraft were on site helping with the investigation
A salvage company was also called to move the wreckage to a secure location, Hodges said.
Interview with an NTSB investigator
A park ranger found the plane in a treeline at the old golf course Thursday afternoon between Route KK and Highway 54 near the Grand Glaize Airport. Police say a witness saw the plane roll and then spiral toward the ground shortly after takeoff.
The Osage Beach Police 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 remained in serious condition Friday morning. Gary Vandiver is a 1990 graduate of the University of Missouri's agricultural economics program, an MU spokesperson said.
Police believe Hayden Ritchhart was believed to be flying. FAA online records show 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.
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.
An FAA spokesperson said the NTSB will lead the investigation. A final report on the crash could take two years to complete.
“The follow up work, we typically do that within six months or so after we get it recovered," Hodges said. "Once we have the examination work completed, we release the wreckage back to the insurance adjuster. And after the final report, typically these things take anywhere between one-to-one-and-a-half-to-two years depending on the findings and complexity of the investigation.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.
