Investigation Into Osage Beach Plane Crash Still Continues As Initial Intel Shows No Issue With The Plane

As the new year approaches, the investigation continues into an airplane crash that killed two people and injured another in Osage Beach.

The crash happened back on July 12^th shortly after the Piper-PA-28 took off from the Grand Glaize airport and, according to witnesses, was observed flying with its tail lower than the nose before banking sharply and landing nose down in a heavily wooded area a short distance from Route-KK.

22-year-old Hayden Ritchhart of Carrollton, who was believed to have been flying the plane, and 19-year-old Evan Vandiver of Richmond were both pronounced dead at the scene. A second passenger, 54-year-old Gary Vandiver also from Richmond, was seriously hurt.

A preliminary inspection by the N-T-S-B did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine to preclude normal operation.

A final report into the cause of the crash could still take another several months.