Sedona AZ (August 3, 2016) – UPDATE 11:42 a.m.: The victim has been tentatively identified as 76-year-old Homer “Mac” McClure from Mesa, AZ. The aircraft was a Twin Engine Piper Seneca (1980, PA-34-200T). The crash site was approximately 5 miles SW of Pulliam Airport in the forest near a residential area.
Earlier today:
At least one fatality has been confirmed in an aircraft crash just south of Forest Highlands (neighborhood south of Flagstaff, AZ). The identity of the aircraft or victim are not yet available.
Around 9:24 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2, 2016, the Flagstaff / Coconino 911 Center received reports from several citizens in the Forest Highlands and Kachina Village areas of a loud crash, possibly a downed aircraft. Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Arizona Department of Public Safety Troopers responded to an area just south of Forest Highlands on SR89A and noticed the odor of fuel. They located the crash site near the highway. Highlands Fire Department and DPS Air Rescue also assisted in this response.
No further details are available at this time. We hope to be able to provide further details by Wednesday (August 3, 2016), mid-morning.
The SedonaEye.com will provide updates as they become available.
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Pilot believed killed in this crash is Mac McClure of Mesa. More information as known.
Homer McClure (Mac) was president of Flights for Life, a nonprofit organization with 140 volunteer pilots who transport blood donations all over Arizona.
Flights for Life pilots also make daily trips to Flagstaff and Yuma to ensure the hospitals in both cities have enough blood for patients. Last year alone, Flights for Life pilots flew 2,262 hours on hundreds of missions for United Blood Services.
No nearby homes were involved in the crash which completely destroyed the plane after it left Pulliam airport, Flagstaff AZ, at approximately 9:12 p.m. and crashed minutes later.
McClure was dead on the scene. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office, FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The cause is still unknown.
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Around 9:00 pm on August 2, 2016, 76 year old Homer “Mac” McClure picked up donated blood from the United Blood Services in Flagstaff, AZ. He left Pulliam Airport around 9:14 pm. Shortly thereafter, residents in Kachina Village and Forest Highlands reported hearing erratic airplane engine sounds followed by a large crash. Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, AZ DPS, Flagstaff Police, Highlands Fire, and AZ DOT responded to the scene of his crashed Twin Engine Piper Seneca approximately 5 mi southwest of the airport and approximately 50 yards east of SR89A. There were no reports or indications of a fire. The debris field of the crash is over 200 yards long; tops of trees broken off show an impact path. Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Medical Examiners Office, the FAA, NTSB will be investigating.