A small airplane crashed on the property’s Champions Course on April 9, killing everyone on board. The Piper PA24 aircraft crashed and caught fire shortly after takeoff from Scottsdale Airport, and the accident is under investigation.
A small airplane crashed on April 9 on the TPC Scottsdale (Ariz.) Champions Course and police have confirmed that six people were killed, USA Today reported.
Scottsdale police and fire crews responded around 9 p.m. to numerous reports of an aircraft down just north of Scottsdale Airport. Scottsdale police confirmed the aircraft crashed on the Champions golf course, USA Today reported.
Video and photographs taken shortly after the crash showed wreckage of a burning aircraft. See video here.
The aircraft was a Piper PA24, which crashed onto the golf course and caught fire after takeoff from Scottsdale Airport, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. Initial information from the scene indicated five people were on board, he said. Further information on the occupants was unavailable, USA Today reported.
Officer Kevin Watts, a Scottsdale police spokesman, said none of the six people on board survived the crash. “We do know the flight originated at Scottsdale Airport and it appears it went down shortly after takeoff,’’ Watts said.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were headed to the crash site to begin investigating, Watts said. Kenitzer said the FAA would assist in the investigation, USA Today reported.
Versace King said he was helping his father load a truck near the airport and noticed a small, single-engine airplane take off. A few moments later, King heard the plane stall, then recalled a loud noise and subsequent explosion, USA Today reported.
“I was like, ‘What the heck?’ So I drove over to the golf course and I saw the plane was engulfed in flames,” King said.
King got about 100 yards and began recording video of the fiery crash. He said emergency crews were on the scene several minutes later. He added the weather was “perfect” at the time, USA Today reported.
The Champions course is one of two golf courses at the TPC Scottsdale. It is just east of the TPC Stadium Course, where the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open is held, USA Today reported.
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