Son Of Oklahoma Trooper Is Victim In Fatal Plane Crash

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The son of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol captain has died in the crash of a plane in northern Arkansas, his family said. <br/><br/>Craig Meyer, 26, and another man were killed when the

Saturday, January 6th 2007, 2:05 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The son of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol captain has died in the crash of a plane in northern Arkansas, his family said.

Craig Meyer, 26, and another man were killed when the 1985 Cessna 182 went down about a mile east of Batesville. The wreckage was found about 1 p.m. Friday just east of the Batesville airport, said Richard Griffin of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Meyer, of McKinney, Texas, is the son of OHP Capt. Stewart Meyer. The younger Meyer graduated from Chickasha High School and Oklahoma State University and often helped his father with Cadet Lawman Academy, a youth program put on by the patrol, said Lt. Pete Norwood, spokesman for the patrol.

``It's a tragedy for the OHP family,'' Norwood said. ``A lot of us had the pleasure of watching Craig grow up.''

The plane Meyer was traveling in was registered to Barr Air Patrol LLC, a Mesquite, Texas, company that monitors oil and gas pipelines from the air. It wasn't immediately clear who was flying the aircraft.

Mike McDuffie, president of Barr Air Patrol, was not available on Friday to comment, a man answering the phone at the company's office said.

Meyer's plane left Joilet, Ill., on Thursday and officials last had contact with the plane about 11 that morning when it was flying over Doniphan, Mo., in southeastern portion of the state.

Griffin said he wasn't sure if the Texas-bound plane was scheduled to stop in Batesville. It was reported missing Thursday evening when it didn't arrive.

Assistant airport manager Ken Rawlings said the weather on Thursday was foggy and rainy. The fog was still bad enough Friday that crews could not use planes in the search.

Meyer was a certified commercial pilot with about two years' experience, records show.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.