Two people die in plane crash near Arkansas River

Federal Investigators today will inspect the wreckage of a twin-engine airplane that crashed into a remote area near the Arkansas River Monday night, killing two people. The plane went down less than

Tuesday, October 31st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Federal Investigators today will inspect the wreckage of a twin-engine airplane that crashed into a remote area near the Arkansas River Monday night, killing two people. The plane went down less than a half-mile from Jones-Riverside Airport.

Dispatch called firefighters 15 minutes before the small plane crashed around 6:15 PM. "He came in and buzzed the airport, like he was going to land,â€ said witness David Imboden. â€œHe pulled up, did like a 45 degree bank, and just fell out of the sky."

Some of the witnesses thought the plane was doing aerobatics. Others knew there was trouble. â€œIt looked like a glow was coming from the engine, like there might have been flames," Imboden said. Tulsa Police sergeant Wayne Allen told The News on Six that evidence at the crash scene indicated there was a fire when the airplane crashed.

Some of the pilots and student pilots from Jones-Riverside made it to the crash scene as quickly as the emergency workers. "This is weird,â€ said flight student Patrick Stevens. â€œTt's eery and a little nerve wracking. We're all out here everyday, doing the same thing." Imboden said, â€œIt hits me hard being a flight student, myself. It could have been me, you know."

It's now up to federal investigators to figure out what went wrong. The News on Six has had unconfirmed reports that the crash victims are a flight instructor and student from Christiansen Aviation. At present, no one is commenting. The airport's tower received a distress call from the plane moments before the accident.