New Mexico Plane Crash: Aircraft Goes Down Shortly After Takeoff, Two Dead

A single-engine aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Angel Fire Airport, New Mexico, on Sunday morning, killing two persons including the pilot of the aircraft.

According to local reports, the local fire department rushed to the crash site after a call about the same at about 8.48 a.m. local time (10.48 a.m. EDT). It was reported that the plane had damaged a restaurant on its way down.

Meanwhile, the victims were identified as 65-year-old Richard Joseph Schenk and Anne Schenk, from Great Bend, Texas. In a Facebook post, the Angel Fire Fire Department said one of the victims, Richard, was a commercial pilot.

The fire department said the wind during the time was a factor in the crash and estimated the winds to be 25 knots or 29 miles per hour strong.

“This is an on-going investigation and more information will be forthcoming,” it said.

Officials from the state office of the medical investigator, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transport Safety Board were investigating the crash. The officials also asked the general public to avoid the area of the crash.

A red flag warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Albuquerque as strong winds blew due to a storm in the area, requiring flight services to be halted till 8 p.m. local time (10 p.m. EDT), Sunday. During the storm, the winds were expected to be at 30 to 40 miles an hour with gusts up to 50 miles per hour.