2013 Jasper plane crash
The 2013 Jasper plane crash was a fatal aviation accident that occurred just west of the Walker County Airport near Jasper on the evening of January 1, 2013.
The Piper PA 30 "Twin Comanche" dual-engine aircraft had been reported stolen the same morning. Investigators believe a teenaged student pilot took the plane and took two friends for a joy ride. Shortly after taking off into a low cloud ceiling, the craft went down in a wooded area near Alabama State Highway 5 and Wells Loop Road. All three on board were killed.
The victims were identified as Jordan Seth Montgomery and Jordan Smith, both 17-year-old seniors at Meek High School in Arley, Winston County and Brandon Tyler Ary, 19, a Meek graduate. Smith's mother told reporters that her son, a student pilot, had flown the plane several times before and had his own set of keys and the code to open a security gate behind which it was parked. Airport manager Edwin Banks said that Smith had been trained only on single-engine aircraft and would not have been granted permission to operate the twin-engine craft at night, with passengers, or in instrument-only conditions.
References
- Smith, Mike D. (January 2, 2013) "Three teens die in plane crash while 'joyriding' near Jasper, authorities say." The Birmingham News
- Robinson, Carol (January 2, 2013) "Three teens killed in Walker County plane crash identified." The Birmingham News
- "Mother of teen pilot killed in Walker County crash said boy didn't steal plane" (January 2, 2013) AP/The Birmingham News