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Two killed in plane crash near Rich Hill
By Justin Baldwin
Nevada Daily Mail
Early Tuesday morning residents of northern Vernon County were awakened by the sound of a small plane flying very low to the ground. Shortly afterward Vernon County Sheriff's Office officials and local search and rescue personnel located the wreckage of the plane identified as a Piper 180 -- a small four-seat aircraft -- in the August Busch Four Rivers Conservation Area and the bodies of the two people aboard among the debris.
Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman said there were several early reports of the crash in the form of calls from area residents who were concerned about an aircraft flying very low in the undeveloped area.
Mark White, who lives nearby the crash site, said that he and his wife, were awakened by the sound of the plane around 5:30 a.m.
"It sounded like a plane trying to gain altitude," he said. White then looked outside but the dense fog obscured his view. Nothing was visible from his home.
Another neighbor, who declined to give his name, was the first on the scene and described the carnage in the fog. He said, "I came in and saw a seat and stuff. Then I saw an ear and I got … out of there."
Other neighbors told news reporters they thought they'd heard sputtering noises from the aircraft prior to the crash.
Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman reported that the plane had come in low and hit a pond levee then flipped over before coming to a stop within sight of the Vernon-Bates County line, in a section of the conservation area dotted with ponds, some trees and tall grasses.
"It (the wreckage) was all mangled up and twisted," said Peckman. After the initial county investigation the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board took over the investigation and will evaluate the wreckage in an attempt to determine the cause of the crash.
James McKenzie, Vernon County Ambulance District director, said there was a large debris field, stretching for 200 to 300 feet in length and a couple of hundred feet wide. Despite the time and work in retrieving the remains and undertaking the investigation McKenzie felt things went well.
"Luckily, we don't have these things very often, but it went smoothly," he said.
Peckman agreed that aircraft crashes are rare, but attributed the success of the operation to prior experiences with other crashes in the past.
The victims of the crash were the plane's owner and pilot, Mike Diebolt, 33, of LaHarpe, Kan., and Anita Lumley, 53, of Humboldt, Kan. Both worked for Diebolt Lumber Supply of LaHarpe, Kan.
Authorities in Kansas said Diebolt, piloting the plane, and Lumley departed at 4:30 a.m. from Allen County Airport in Iola, Kan., en route to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.
The two were on a business trip for Diebolt Lumber and Supply, where they worked. Diebolt is the son of Don and Susan Diebolt, owners of the business in LaHarpe.