What: Precision Ag & Seed Services Beechcraft
Where: Topeka, Kansas
When: 22-APR-2011
Who: 4 fatalities
Why: A family of four missed the approach to Philip Billard Municipal Airport. Witnesses to the crash say they heard the engine sputter.

The plane was flying too low as it made a go-around to make a second landing pass. The plane was a Beechcraft built in Kansas.

The young Scott city couple and their daughters were making an Easter trip when they crashed. The victims names were released: Richard Dylan Spencer, 35; Amy Beth Spencer, 34; and their daughters, Chase Spencer, 7, and Ansley Spencer, 5.

All of these aviation crashes that involve deaths are terrible; but somehow it hits home sharper when it is a young couple with their two small children.

Rest in peace Spencers.

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South Africa Military Plane Crashes killing 11

What: South African military Douglas C-47TP Dakota
Where: Drakensberg mountains
When: Dec 5, 2012
Who: 11 crew and passengers
Why: A military plane that took off from Pretoria crashed in the Drakensberg (trans. Dragon Mountain) mountains killing everyone aboard. Soldiers located the wreckage near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Six crew members and five passengers were on the flight, which encountered bad weather. The deceased include a major, a captain, four sergeants, four corporals and one lance corporal.

The accident occurred 17 miles north of Qunu, where Mandela lives. It has not been reported if the crew was connected with Mandela or his medical care. It has been speculated that the crash was weather related.

South Africa’s Defense Department will be investigating.

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Iowa Plane Crash Kills US Senate Candidate

PiperA single-engine Piper PA-46 aircraft crashed near Dubuque Regional Airport, Iowa, on October 13.

Dr. Doug Butzier, a Libertarian candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat in Iowa, was killed in the crash. He was contending against the Democratic candidate Bruce Braley.

According to FAA spokesperson Lynn Lunsford, the plane crashed at around 11 p.m. while it was approaching the runway to make a landing. He also confirmed that the plane departed from Ankeny Regional Airport around an hour earlier.

Butzier was the only one aboard the aircraft when it crashed.

The NTSB is investigating.

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PG&E Contractor Accident in California
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PG&E Contractor Accident in California


On August 13, 2013, an AA Aerial Services and Frontline Energy operated Champion 7GCAA was on a survey mission over a natural gas transmission pipeline when it crashed in Hamlin Canyon, SW of Paradise, CA. The time is estimated at 11:35 a.m.

Witness Bob Smalley saw the plane circle to the right and fall out of the sky.

The plane caught fire on impact and by the time firemen got there, the plane was gone. When they arrived, they had no idea who was aboard and the plane was beyond identification. Twenty-one acres burned. The fire was contained by six engines, four water trucks, a bulldozer, four crews on the ground and aboveground, two air tankers and a spotter plane.

Afterwards, the plane was identified as one performing surveillance contracted for PG&E. The two people aboard who lost their lives were identified only as an employee of AA Aerial Services and one with Frontline Energy Service. However, the plane was registered to Fredrick Lewis, an agricultural pilot.

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Float Plane Crashes in Buss Lake Canada

What: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
Where: Buss Lake Canada
When: June 30, 2011
Who: 3 fatalities
Why: The pilot issued a distress beacon at 1:45 pm in a very remote location in Saskatchewan. The flight was apparently a fishing expedition.

The plane was spotted in the lake by a pilot who was flying by and heard the signal, and reported the location to Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario, who sent a Hercules aircraft from 435 Squadron in Winnipeg.

The Hercules was able to land after dropping a chainsaw to rescue techs to clear the brush.

The float plan crashed in Buss Lake, Saskatchewan. All three aboard, including the pilot, died in the crash. Two search and rescue team members are on site but the cause of the crash is unknown.

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Beechcraft Layoffs Coming

In 2008, about 500 Beechcraft employees lost their jobs.

In 2009, Beechcraft is undergoing a $17 million expansion to its Little Rock facility where 900 people work. This was announced last October; however, there are still going to be company job cuts across the board. In a letter to employees, Beechcraft Chairman and CEO Jim Schuster said “As a result, we are forced to substantially decrease our 2009 production levels and take the painful step of reducing our workforce accordingly. We are in the process of finalizing our plans and will notify affected employees as soon as possible.”

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Small Plane Crash in Texas Leaves Two Dead

A small plane crashed in Parker County, Texas, on October 12th.

The plane went down near the unincorporated community of Poolville.

Two people were killed in the crash.

The cause of crash is being investigated.

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