Two dead, two injured after Redding plane crash
REDDING, Calif. — Authorities say at least two of four occupants were killed when a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed and exploded while taking off from Benton Airpark in West Redding this morning. Two other victims suffered “significant” injuries, according to officials who remain at the scene.
A small vegetation fire ignited by the crash and explosion in the canyon north of Placer St. was quickly knocked down by responding firefighters.
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City of Redding police and fire personnel, along with other emergency responders were first alerted to the crash around 6:45 a.m., Redding Police Lt. Brian Cole said after this morning’s deadly accident.
When emergency personnel arrived they found the wreckage of the still burning plane scattered around a small vegetation fire in the canyon on the airport’s north side.
Firefighters from more than a half-dozen area engine companies quickly knocked down the blaze, containing the fire to about two acres, according to Cole.
Firefighters and other officials made quick work knocking down a blaze that erupted after a plane crashed while taking off from Benton Airpark this morning. Redding PD photo
Officials have since confirmed to KRCR that four people were aboard the plane when it crashed while taking off from the airport.
Two of the plane’s occupants were taken to an area hospital with unspecified, but significant, injuries, according to KRCR. Their current conditions were unknown as of this report.
In a Record Searchlight interview in the crash’s aftermath, area resident Charlene Williams described what she heard and saw in the moments after the fatal accident.
“I was sitting on the couch and I heard this big crash and I had to run and put some clothes on because I wasn’t dressed yet,” Williams explained; saying, “Then I came out and I saw giant pillars of smoke and fire and everybody pulling up.”
Although Placer St. was initially closed between Airpark Dr. and Pleasant St., officials have since opened one lane in both directions.
As of noon, Redding Police and Fire Departments, along with CHP and other officials remained at the scene and FAA officials were still en route to the location.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregor has since said: “The FAA will publish the tail number of the aircraft after investigators confirm it at the accident place.”
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.
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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.
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