FILE – A Federal Aviation Administration sign on a tower at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 16, 2017. Authorities are investigating a close call that occurred at a New York airport on Friday, January 13, 2023. Airplanes crossing the runway and planes preparing to take off. The FAA said it would investigate the incident, which occurred around 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Apache Junction, Arizona (AP) — Federal officials are trying to figure out how a small plane crashed into a mountain in central Arizona, killing two people on board.
The single-engine plane took off from Falcon Fields Airport in Mesa and crashed around 8 a.m. Saturday in the Superstition Mountains region east of Apache Junction, about 50 miles east of downtown Phoenix.
The National Transportation Safety Board said a Sokata TB 30 Epsilon aircraft was operating as part of three flights.
They said the plane was headed for Payson in north-central Arizona and crashed into very vertical, rocky terrain.
The Pinal County Sheriff said they are continuing to work to confirm the identities of the two people killed in the accident.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said investigators would document the crash site and collect available flight trajectories and radar data.
An interim report detailing the facts and circumstances of the fatal crash is expected to be released in the next two to three weeks.
A final report with probable causes and contributing factors is expected within 12-24 months.
The FAA and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the fatality.
