May 3, 2014
South Dakota

NTSB issues preliminary report on fatal plane crash near Highmore

By: Jeri Thomas | May 2, 2014 | www.drgnews.com

The NTSB has issued a preliminary report on last Sunday’s fatal airplane crash near Highmore.  A Piper PA-32R fixed wing single engine plane was destroyed when it impacted the blade of a wind turbine at a wind farm south of Highmore.  The National Transportation Safety Board report says the crash occurred about 9:15 p.m.  The pilot, 30-year-old Donald “DJ” Fisher of Gettysburg, along with passengers-37-year-old Brent Beitelspacher of Bowdle, 25-year-old Logan Rau of Java and 33-year-old Nick Reimann of Ree Heights were all killed.

The NTSB report indicates the flight originated from Hereford, Texas and was reported missing by a concerned family member when it didn’t arrive in Gettysburg as expected on Sunday.  Hyde County emergency responders found the aircraft early on Monday morning.

The wreckage of the plane was discovered scattered around the base of a wind turbine and one of the turbine’s blades was broken into several pieces.  The remaining two blades also showed impact damage.

The wreckage of the plane has been moved to a storage facility at Greeley, Colorado and the NTSB’s Jennifer Rodi says plans call for the debris to be examined in mid-May.  The entire investigation into the crash will take about 8-10 months.

Services for the crash victims started yesterday.  Beitelspacher’s funeral was held Thursday in Bowdle and Rau’s funeral was today in Eureka. Mass of Christian Burial for Fischer will be tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at the Gettysburg School Gym.  A memorial for Fisher was set up at Great Western Bank in Gettysburg.  Funeral services for Reimann will also be tomorrow, at 10:30 a.m. at the Miller Armory.

View the NTSB report on the link below:

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20140428X10808&key=1

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/05/03/ntsb-issues-preliminary-report-on-fatal-plane-crash-near-highmore/