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Private Jet Aborts Takeoff and Crashes Causing 5 Fatalities – BrewerWood News
On Tuesday. November 5, 2024 at approximately 4:45pm, a Honda Jet model HA-420 (N57HP) occupied by the pilot and 4 passengers was on the runway at Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, AZ, set for departure to Provo, Utah. The jet accelerated for takeoff when, for undetermined reasons, it aborted the takeoff but was unable to stop. As a result, the jet overran the end of the runway and went through a perimeter fence. The jet continued onto North Greenfield Road, a busy major roadway, where it collided with a motor vehicle and came to rest. A post-crash fire ensued.
A witness told police, “the plane never left the ground and plowed through a field at the end of a Falcon Field Airport runway, tore into a fence, slid onto Greenfield Road, hit a vehicle and crashed into an orchard.” Officials said four people onboard the jet and the driver of the vehicle that was hit died.
Five people were aboard the jet, four of whom died at the scene. They have been identified as:
Sources confirmed to Arizona’s Family that Rustin Randall was the pilot, and the group was reportedly flying to Provo, Utah. A teenage relative of the victims, who was also aboard the jet, was hospitalized with burn injuries and has not yet been identified. The driver of the car struck by the jet also died and has not been identified.
The six-passenger Honda jet has a composite fuselage and an aluminum wing, and is powered by two unusually mounted GE Honda HF120 turbofans, on pylons above the wing. Original concepts of the aircraft started in 1997 and were completed in 1999. It took its maiden flight on December 3, 2003, received its FAA type certificate in December 2015, and was first delivered that same month. As of February, 2024, 250 jets had been delivered.
Records show the jet was owned by Ice Man Holdings LLC, a company operated by Lindahl and Rustin. Its address is on East McKellips Road at Falcon Field in a long building that backs onto an airport taxiway.
“Our community suffered a tragic loss this afternoon. We had a plane that took off from Falcon Field Airport in Mesa and upon take off, it crashed into a single vehicle on Greenfield Road,” said Mesa Fire and Medical Department’s spokesperson Marrisa Ramirez-Ramos.
Security video from Flight Trails Helicopters, Inc., a business at the airport, that shows the jet crashing through a fence and into a car on Greenfield Road. Immediately following, fire and black smoke can be seen rising into the sky.
Keith Small works in the company’s hangar and helps fix helicopters after wrecks. He was at work on Tuesday afternoon when the accident happened. “I heard metal grinding, and I didn’t think of it at first. And then I thought, ‘wait a minute,’ “he recalled. ”So, I stood up and turned around and I could see the dirt out on the end of the runway there. And as soon as I got around the corner, then boom! Airplane blew up. And it blew up a couple, three times.”
Falcon Fields Airport ATC was unaware of the crash until a taxiing plane preparing for takeoff spotted the explosion down the runway and contacted ATC. The Honda Jet Pilot, Randall, had not made contact with ATC post takeoff clearance at start of the runway.
Reasons for the aborted takeoff are still unclear. This is an ongoing investigation led by the NTSB and FAA.
The agency will examine a range of information and records, including recordings of air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records and surveillance videos.
Investigators were expected to document the area and examine the plane, which is expected to be taken to a secure facility for further examination.
The deaths ripple through the East Valley, where some of the victims lived and worshiped. In an email to the members of the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints in Chandler, ward leaders also called for “earnest prayers.” Social workers and school counselors were on hand on Nov. 6 at Carlson Elementary School in Chandler, where Grahm Kimball was in sixth grade.
Chandler Unified School District spokeswoman Stephanie Ingersoll said the crisis response team would be available the following day as well.
“As a community, we are heartbroken and grieving his passing,” read a statement from Ingersoll.
The Kimball family was still reeling from the sudden death of their oldest son, Braden, less than a year ago.
Drew Kimball delivered a keynote address, backdropped by images of his son, at the Hope Mental Health Foundation charity event on Oct. 25. He talked about the importance of making time to “check in” with family and friends.
The Foundation posted a message on Facebook:
“We are heartbroken to hear the news of the tragic loss of our friend, Drew, his son Grahm and his friends last night,” the foundation wrote. “We are grateful to have heard his speech at our gala … We will honor his message and legacy at Hope.”
A GoFundMe was launched for the Kimball family to help cover funeral costs. The organizer, Jodi Adams of Gilbert, acknowledged the tragedy of the “horrific accident” because it happened nearly a year after Braden’s death.
Tanya Kimball wrote on Instagram that her family takes solace in knowing her husband and sons had “a glorious reunion … on the other side.”
She captioned a picture of Grahm and Drew with the message: “Grahm Bentley Kimball & Drew Steven Kimball reunited with Braden on November 5th, 2024.”
The highly skilled attorneys at the BrewerWood law firm have nearly 60 years of combined experience representing victims of helicopter and airplane accidents in the USA and globally. Oftentimes, the cause of an aircraft crash is not clear even after government investigators complete their investigation. And, in many instances, investigators are quick to blame a crash on pilot error or weather conditions when, in fact, some other cause resulted in the crash. Time and time again, the attorneys at BrewerWood have uncovered that the true cause of an aviation crash was a faulty part, a faulty system, or faulty design of the aircraft which can mean that a product manufacturer can be held responsible for the crash. BrewerWood’s attorneys personally and fully investigates each and every aviation crash with a team of the top aerospace and aviation experts independent of the findings by government investigators. It is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after an accident before critical evidence is lost or memories fade. If you or a family member has been a victim of an aircraft accident, please contact the attorneys at BrewerWood for a free consultation.
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Article Sources:
https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/458776
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa-breaking/2024/11/06/5-people-who-died-in-mesa-small-plane-crash-near-falcon-field-identified/76091455007/
https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/unimaginable-loss-mesa-plane-crash-victims-identified-east-valley-community-members/75-132cac28-ee7a-4211-ad07-37e4ab42b58e
https://www.azfamily.com/2024/11/06/mesa-police-identify-5-killed-after-plane-crashes-hits-car-near-falcon-field/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/chandler/2024/11/07/chandler-mom-shares-goodbye-to-son-and-husband-after-falcon-field-crash/76097790007/
