From staff reports
news@joplinglobe.com
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A plane owned by a Mount Vernon-based skydiving company stalled before it crashed on April 19, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The crash, which killed two people and injured two others, came after “an in-flight loss of control,” the federal report said.
Marnie Fuller, 36, of Walnut Grove, and Jennifer Collins, 32, of Peculiar, died in the crash. Both were employed by Freefall Express Skydiving Inc., which was based at the Mount Vernon airport. The pilot and another passenger were seriously injured. Because of his injuries, pilot Jason Rog, 32, Springfield, has not yet been interviewed by investigators.
Three skydivers — Tabitha Perkins, 18, Webb City; Heather Mehl, 23, of Springfield; and Emily Barnett, 25, of Springfield — were not injured.
According to two of the surviving parachutists, the airplane had climbed to 10,500 feet and the pilot signaled for one of the skydivers to open the door. When she did, she noticed that the airplane had overshot the drop zone by approximately one mile, and she informed the pilot, according to the report.
She said as he started to make a right turn, the stall warning horn sounded and the airplane “rolled off its right wing” and entered a spin.
Three skydivers jumped from the plane and parachuted to safety. A fourth skydiver, Tera Smith, 29, of Overland Park, Kan., broke her right leg as she jumped from the plane, but she managed to land without further harm.
Collins suffered fatal injuries after her reserve parachute deployed and became entangled around the tail of the plane.
The body of Fuller, the sixth skydiver, was found inside the plane along with the pilot.
The plane hit trees and terrain and came to a stop, nose down, There were chop marks on several tree trunks, the report said.
Experience
Federal investigators said all six passenger on the plane were experienced skydivers, with 100 to 300 jumps each.
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