Arkansas flight instructor, 70, and 44-year-old man are killed when their two-seat Piper PA-38 aircraft crashes in rural area 100 miles northeast of Little Rock
Two people who were killed in a small plane crash on Monday afternoon in rural northeastern Arkansas have been identified, according to Izard County Sheriff Jack Yancey.
Yancey said the two men who died in the single-engine Piper PA-38 crash near Franklin were Dave Rottman, 70, of Lonoke and Lucas Parker, 44 of Conway.
Yancey said it is believed that the crash happened on Monday afternoon during flight training.
Rottman is the owner of Arkansas Pilot Development in Lonoke.
Yancey said his office got a call around 12:30pm on Monday from a woman who reported a plane flying low over her house and then hearing an abrupt crash.
Dave Rottman, 70, of Lonoke, Arkansas, and Lucas Parker, 44 of Conway, Arkansas, were identified as the two men who were killed when their Piper PA-38 two-seat aircraft (like the one seen in the above undated file photo) crashed in a rural area of northeast Arkansas on Monday
Authorities said they received a report from local residents at around 2pm who said they heard an aircraft flying low overhead near Franklin
Yancey said his deputies are with Federal Aviation Association officials at the crash site, which lies about 100 miles northeast of Little Rock.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was a 1978 Piper PA-38 Tomahawk, a two-seat aircraft.
Jonesboro TV station KAIT reported that the plane, which was registered to Arkansas Pilot Development, was traveling between two small airports in northern Arkansas.
The plane took off from Baxter County Airport in Mountain Home and was scheduled to land a short time later at the Walnut Ridge Regional Airport, KAIT-TV reported.
Local authorities were also informed by officials at Memphis International Airport of an emergency beacon that was coming from the aircraft during its flight.
According to flight records, the plane flew out of Carlisle Municipal Airport in Lonoke County on Monday morning at around 10am and landed at Baxter County Airport in Mountain Home shortly afterward.
The cause of the crash was not yet known.
THE PIPER PA-38 TOMAHAWK: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
The Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk aircraft is a two-seat, single-engine, tricycle gear plane that was first introduced to the market in 1978.
Since its inception, nearly 2,500 units have been built by the Piper company.
The Vero Beach, Florida-based company, which is owned by the government of Brunei, is one of the so-called ‘Big Three’ in general aviation - the other two firms being Cessna and Beechcraft.
The Piper PA-38 is generally used for flight training, touring, and personal aviation.
The two-seat plane is powered by a Lycoming O-235 four-cylinder piston engine with a twin-bladed tractor propeller.
It also has two front-hinged doors for access to the cabin.
Between 1978 and 1980, Piper produced PA-38 which were considered the original Tomahawk. In 1981 and 1982, they started producing the models that became known as Tomahawk II.
It measures 23ft1.25 inches in length and 9ft1in in height. The plane has a wingspan of 34ft.
Its fuel capacity is 32 gallons and its fuel burn rate is 6.5 gallons per hour.
It can reach a height of 12,000ft while flying at a maximum speed of 109 knots - or 125.44mph.
The plane has a range of 468 nautical miles, or 538.57 miles.
The plane earned a reputation as safer than its main competitor, the single-engine Cessna 150/152.