Wichita Falls couple believed killed in plane crash
Two people were killed when a small plane crashed in a remote area of northwestern Arizona, authorities said Tuesday.
The victims had not been officially identified as of Wednesday morning, but social media lit up with condolences for Chad and Brandi Wilson of Wichita Falls. They were operators of a construction company whose contracts included city projects.
Jon Paxton with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said because of the remoteness of the area and weather conditions detectives were not able to get to the scene Tuesday. He said Wednesday morning officers were in route and he hoped to have more information Wednesday afternoon.
"I feel pretty sure everybody knows who it is, but we won't know until our detectives are in there," he said.
"I am absolutely heartbroken and saddened by this tragedy. Please send prayers out to their family," Mayor Stephen Santellana said in a Facebook post.
Coconino County Sheriff’s officials said deputies out of the Williams/Grand Canyon substation responded to a report of a missing aircraft north of Seligman just before noon Arizona time Tuesday.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane went off the radar in a remote area between Kingman and Flagstaff. Weather conditions were poor at the time.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter out of Kingman helped in the search and located the crash scene and confirmed there were two fatalities.
Local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board are involved in the investigation but further details were not immediately released.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls couple believed killed in plane crash
