Solar array plant’s CEO dies in plane crash
Amonix Inc., which operates a solar array manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, announced Friday that its chief executive officer was killed Thursday in a plane crash in Pennsylvania.
Brian Robertson, 38, was killed when the twin-engine plane he was piloting crashed in a field. Robertson was the lone occupant on a flight from Long Beach, Calif., to York, Pa., The York Dispatch newspaper reported Friday.
“We are devastated by this tragic accident,” said Vahan Garboushian, Amonix’s founder, chief technology officer and chairman of the board, in a statement. “Brian was an incredible leader and our heart goes out to his family.”
The Amonix website Friday was updated with a memorial to Robertson.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Robertson was flying to Pennsylvania to visit his family for the holidays when he was killed, according to a company spokesman.
In May, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., presided over a ceremony to “flip the switch” on an Amonix CPV solar plant at the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s River Mountains Water Treatment Facility.
The North Las Vegas plant, which opened in July and employs more than 300 people, is a joint venture with Singapore company Flextronics.
On Friday, Reid said he was “saddened” to hear of the crash .
“He and his company have been great for Nevada by investing in solar energy, most recently opening a solar plant in North Las Vegas,” Reid said in a statement. “My thoughts are with his family and his colleagues at Amonix during this difficult time.”
Robertson, a veteran executive in the solar industry, joined Amonix in late 2009, after the acquisition of Sunworks Solar LLC. He co-founded Sunworks — a solar power manufacturing plant development company — in 2008.
Robertson is survived by his wife, Eileen, and three children. A company biography described Robertson as an avid pilot who was a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and who received a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School.
Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.