Plane crash victims identified
By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
POSTED: May 14, 2008
Federal officials continue to search for the cause of a Monday plane crash in Morgan County that killed an Alabama couple.
The single-engine plane was en route from Huntington, W.Va., to Rochester, N.Y, when it crashed around 1:30 p.m. about 15 miles southeast of Zanesville in the ReCreation Lands area of northeast Morgan County.
The victims are pilot, Phillip B. Clemons, 65, and his wife, Patricia Clemons, 64, both of Culman, Ala.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the wreck. The investigation could take several months, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman with the FAA.
“(In addition to the crash site), we’re going to be looking at the pilot to make sure he was properly certified and that the aircraft was properly maintained,” she said.
Gary Salyers, the Tri-State Airport director in Huntington, reported the plane was in for maintenance Saturday.
“They came in here Saturday and had experienced a little problem ... I believe it was electrical, but I have no details about the specifics of their problem,” he said. “I believe it was a bad battery and a mechanic was called out and put a new battery in the plane. To my knowledge that was the only work done while they were here.”
Salyers said the couple were ready to depart Saturday evening, but that they decided to wait until Monday because of inclement weather.
The single-engine B35 Bonanza departed Huntington between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Monday, Salyers said.
Local officials were notified of the crash around 1:35 p.m.
The crash site is located near the intersection of Ohio 284 and Ohio 83 in Bristol Township, just south of the Muskingum County line.
