98°F
weather icon Clear

Sky-diving plane crashes in Mesquite, two injured

A small skydiving plane crashed Saturday afternoon at the Mesquite Municipal Airport, just two months after two skydivers plunged to their deaths when their parachute malfunctioned above the airport.

Both the pilot and a single passenger survived Saturday's incident.

The plane was attempting to land about 12:30 p.m. after several skydivers completed their jump, said Jeffrey Smith, a spokesman for the Mesquite Police. The plane skidded off the runway, crossed Kitty Hawk Drive and slid into the Canyons Golf Course before stopping on its belly at the 17th hole, he said.

One person was treated on scene and the other was transported to the hospital, treated and released.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, Smith said.

The Cessna aircraft was operating for Skydive Mesquite, the company that oversaw the Oct. 9 jump when instructor James Fonnesbeck, 60, and his tandem jumping student Claudette Porter, 75, were killed.

Contact Jessica Fryman at jfryman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged even as Trump demands cuts

The Federal Reserve left its key short-term interest rate unchanged for the fifth time this year, brushing off repeated calls from President Donald Trump for a cut.

Worst tsunami risk passes for Hawaii, US after 8.8 Russia quake

The dire warnings following the massive quake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula evoked memories of catastrophic damage caused by tsunamis over the last quarter-century.

MORE STORIES