Cleve Whitener and Gary Morrison Dead In Airplane Crash in Coleman County

Staff Writer February 21, 2020 213 Views

Authorities on Friday released the names of two out of the three people who died in a small plane crash in Coleman County, Texas. They are Cleve Whitener, 70, and Gary Morrison, 65.

The two men died in the early hours of Thursday, February 20th, after the plane they were traveling in crashed at about 6 a.m. The men and the pilot were the only people on the flight, and the pilot has not gotten identified.

Authorities reported that Whitener and Morrison were on board a Beechcraft BE20 Super King Air with tail number N860J. The aircraft was in the air for about 20 minutes before it disappeared from the radar of air traffic control.

Before that, the pilot had called in an electrical problem and was turning the plane around to return to the Abilene Regional Airport. After its disappearance, the federal Aviation Authority called local authorities to search for the aircraft.

At about 9:20 a.m., Cedar Ridge Aviation found the plane’s crash site, but could not get to it immediately due to poor terrain and weather. The rescue helicopter circled the crash site for a while until the search crew could make it down.

The plane landed on the west side of Lake Coleman, and authorities estimate that it only traveled 69 miles from where it took off. The aircraft was transporting Whitener and Morrison to Harlingen.

The flight report showed that the pilot tried to fix the problem on the plane before going dark. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash and will release its findings at a later date.

Please follow and like us: