A private general aviation aircraft, a 1976 Beechcraft Bonanza identification number, N9112S and registered to a limited liability corporation in Carson City, NV, took off from Wiley Post Airport at 8:50 a.m. It was scheduled to fly to Enid Woodring Municipal Airport, but it tried to return to Wiley Post before clipping a tree and crashing in a culvert in front of the Bank of Oklahoma branch at 6517 NW Expressway.
The pilot, Ron Meyer, 59, (and owner of Phoenix Fabrication LLC) died Saturday afternoon. Meyer’s wife, Nam Meyer, 50, was injured in the crash. She was in fair condition at OU Medical Center. Other passengers were retired Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputy Greg Compton, his wife and niece. They were taken to a hospital in serious condition.
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from News9.com
OKLAHOMA CITY -- An aircraft went down on the Northwest Expressway near Candlewood Drive around 9:00 a.m., killing one man.
Five passengers were in the aircraft including the pilot, Ron Meyer. Officials with the OU Medical Center said Meyer has died. His wife, Nam Meyer, along with three other passengers, including retired Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputy Greg Compton and two other females were taken to a hospital in serious condition.
Nam is currently listed in fair condition. Compton is currently in critical condition. Compton's wife and his niece were the other two passengers on the aircraft. Their names and conditions have not been released.
Officials said the single engine Beech Bonanza plane may have been having engine problems after taking off from Wiley Post Airport.
The single-engine plane was apparently trying to make an emergency landing when it clipped a tree and crashed in front of a Bank of Oklahoma along Northwest Expressway.
An EMSA crew was in the area, witnessed the crash and quickly began treating those on board.
"Within two, three minutes we were treating those patients with extractions from the plane craft and taken to the hospital," said Chris Prutzman, EMSA Operation Supervisor.
Emergency officials said the situation could've been a lot worse if the plane landed on the street rather than the side of the road.
"If they had attempted to land on Northwest Expressway, with the type traffic flow that's on Northwest Expressway, there would be a lot more injuries on the ground. But in this case they landed on shoulder. They did clip some trees, which caused them to spin around, but they did land with the belly down, which was the best possible orientation that they can land in," said Oklahoma City Fire Battalion Chief Steve Lumry.
FAA and investigators are looking into exactly why the plane was forced to make an emergency landing.
from planecrashmap.com
NTSB description
On July 25, 2009, about 0852 central daylight time, a Beech V35B, N9112S, lost power during climb and executed a forced landing next to a busy city thoroughfare one mile north of the Wiley Post Airport (PWA), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The airplane impacted trees and a light pole but remained upright coming to rest in a grassy area next to the road. The personal flight was being conducted on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot was fatally injured and the four passengers onboard were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight had originated from PWA and was enroute to the Enid Woodring Regional Airport (WDG), Enid, Oklahoma