Witness Says Plane Flew Through Bird Flock

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 03.04.08 2200 EST: Authorities now report as many as five persons may have died in the Tuesday afternoon crash of a Cessna Citation 500 shortly after takeoff from Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City, OK... but they won't know for sure until daybreak.

"We can’t begin the body recovery until tomorrow due to darkness and the condition of the scene," said Kevin Rowland, chief investigator for the state medical examiner’s office, Tuesday night.

Officials haven't identified any of the victims believed onboard the aircraft. However, Valrie Pool -- wife of Frank Pool Jr, executive vice president of United Engines in Oklahoma City -- said her husband and two other executives, including company president Garth Bates, were onboard the flight.

"They were great business partners and great friends," she said. "They were really well-liked by the people at United Engines."

The aircraft was operated by a two-man flight crew, according to David C. Johnston Jr., attorney for aircraft management company Interstate Helicopters. "Interstate was merely a facilitator to provide an airplane and a crew to the customer, and I’m not at liberty to release the customer’s name at this point," Johnston added.

Original Report

1809 EST: Police and fire officials are on scene following the crash of a Cessna Citation 500 in Oklahoma City, OK, near Wiley Post Airport (PWA).

The aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from PWA, FAA spokesman Roland Herwig told NewsOK.com, and crashed about five miles southwest of the field.

"We are told, and this is preliminary, that there is at least one fatality," Herwig said. "We don't know how many were on board at this point."

Herwig added the aircraft -- tail number N113SH -- is registered to Southwest Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Clinic P.C. of Oklahoma City, and was on an IFR flight plan to Mankato, MN. The plane's owner, Dr. Anthony Cruse, was not onboard, according to a clinic official.

Witness Greg Horton told KWTV-9 that from his vantage point, fishing on a lake near the airport, it looked like the plane (file photo of type, right) may have flown through a flock of birds.

"A bird, after it sucked through, we heard it, a dead bird was floating and it landed right in the lake," he said. "He was trying to recover, and just took a nosedive right over here. I saw the fireball and everything."

Another witness, Lindsey Allison told police the aircraft flew directly overhead as she drove west on NW 10 to Bethany. She thought it was "a stunt plane" due to its maneuvering.

"It was flipping and spinning and going almost upside down. It was all happening right in front of me. Then it seemed to lose all control; it went straight down and crashed," said Allison. "I couldn't believe that it was going to crash."

ANN will provide more details about this accident as they become available.

FMI: www.faa.gov