Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Five killed in plane crash on Nellis range identified

The five people killed in a plane crash last week on the Nellis Air Force Range have been identified.

Pilot David D. Palay Sr. and passengers Derrick L. Butler, Michael A. Izold, Daniel M. Smalley, and Roy A. Van Voorhis died in the March 16 crash about 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas, according to the U.S. Air Force.

All five men lived in Las Vegas.

The twin-engine Beechcraft KA 1900 was on a routine support mission when it went down about 5 a.m. between a classified airstrip and the Tonopah Test Range, the Air Force said.

The plane, which was assigned to the Air Force Material Command, was on an airlift mission in support of the Air Force's flight test program, the Air Force said.

The crash is under investigation.

Palay, 57, was a civilian pilot and Vietnam veteran who worked for the Air Force throughout his life of flying, according to his obituary.

The other men worked for JT3, an Air Force contractor that performs flight test engineering and analysis.

Butler, 40, was a retired master sergeant in the Air Force. He retired in September 2002 after more than 20 years in the service, according to his obituary.

Smalley, 46, lived in Las Vegas the past 22 years after a stint in the Air Force, his obituary said.

Van Voorhis, 56, spent 20 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1987 as a master sergeant, according to his obituary.