Two of the victims in Sunday’s plane crash in western Missouri had local ties.
Authorities released the names of the victims Tuesday, two days after a plane carrying 11 skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff near Butler, Mo.
Marcus Miller, 30, of Lawrence, was a 2013 graduate of Marmaton Valley High School and was the son of Duke Miller, owner of Miller’s Gas Body Shop in Gas.
The younger Miller worked as a welder and was an avid skydiver.
David Hershberger, 54, of Liberty, Mo., also was an avid skydiver.
One of his earliest stops in a 30-year teaching career was as music instructor at Humboldt High School.
At the time of his death, Hershberger was teaching Oak Park High School and Antioch Middle School in the Kansas City, Mo., area. He also was a member of the Kansas City Wind Symphoany.
THE PILOT of the Pacific Aerospace 750ZXL attempted to turn around shortly after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport, about 60 miles south of Kansas City or 30 miles north of Nevada, Mo. The aircraft was specifically designed for large skydiving parties, the Kansas City Star reported.
The plane lost constrol and crashed into a field on airport property.
The NTSB will work to determine what happened over the next year before publishing its final report on the cause although the agency will release some preliminary details over the next month.
