Return-Path: Received: from [67.75.101.28] (account marv@lancaironline.net) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro WebUser 4.1.8) with HTTP id 2999204 for lml@lancaironline.net; Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:31:42 -0500 From: "Marvin Kaye" Subject: Re: [LML] Re: Bad news To: lml X-Mailer: CommuniGate Pro WebUser Interface v.4.1.8 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:31:42 -0500 Message-ID: In-Reply-To: <244640-220042419212430657@M2W052.mail2web.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format="flowed" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Posted for "ckohler1@cfl.rr.com" : News Update Two dead after small plane crashes in desert By Kristina Davis, Tribune Two people died Tuesday afternoon when a small plane crashed in the desert near Apache Junction and burst into flames, officials said. Apache Junction police Sgt. Dick Virgil described the plane as "pancaked" and said its smoldering remains measured only about 2 1/2 feet high. "It was burned beyond recognition and fully engulfed in flames when fire (crews) arrived," Virgil said. Police expect medical examiners will have to use dental records and possibly DNA to identify the victims. The single-engine fixed-wing plane fell from the sky in a flat spin near Idaho Road and Lost Dutchman Boulevard about 1:40 p.m., Virgil said. Witnesses said the plane appeared to have engine trouble and was sputtering in the air, Virgil said. Investigators did not know where the plane came from or where it was headed. Mesa's Falcon Field Airport is the closest airport to the crash scene, but Virgil said there are also several private dirt airstrips in the area. Federal Aviation Administration officials were at the scene and will have to search the wreckage to find the plane's identification number since the plane's tail number was destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash. Contact Kristina Davis by email, or phone () -