Federal officials investigated an airplane crash Sunday that killed a Nebraska native and injured three of his passengers.
The pilot, Burt R. Hubbard, 62, of Colleyville, Texas, was killed in the crash. Hubbard's wife, Vickie, 42; his daughter, Schalee Lodge, 37; and her son, Christopher Goff, 16, both from Sandy, Utah, all were in serious condition Sunday at St. Joseph Hospital.The single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed at Eppley Airfield on Saturday. Airport executive director Don Smithey said he saw the airplane as it took off and it appeared to be having trouble gaining altitude.
Seconds before the plane went down, the pilot asked the air traffic control tower for permission to return to a runway for an emergency landing, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Sandra Campbell said.
Smithey said the pilot banked the plane to the left and crashed in a grassy area about 150 yards from the runway.
It was the first fatal crash at the airport since 1976, when a four-engine DC-6 owned by the Mexican government crashed, killing the five-person crew.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were on the scene Sunday, but telephone calls seeking comment were not immediately returned. Smithey said it could be months before an exact cause is known.
The family was en route to Wagner, S.D., to celebrate Hubbard's parents' 62nd wedding anniversary and to attend a family reunion.
Hubbard's parents, who live in Allen, had arrived in Wagner just hours before they learned of the fatal crash.
"I'm glad the family was all together and we weren't alone when we got the news," said Lesta Hubbard, the pilot's mother. "In Allen, we have no real close relatives at all - it's really been helpful to have our family around."