EVANSVILLE, Ind. EVANSVILLE, Ind. — On Sunday afternoon, a small plane reported to have experienced engine problems on a flight from Illinois and Tennessee crashed at an Evansville golf club.
The green-and-white Piper Cherokee Lance, which came down at Hole No. 1, had four people aboard. 17 at Helfrich Golf Course, on the city’s West Side, around 2:20 p.m.
An Evansville Police Department spokeswoman said all four were taken to hospitals for what she described as “non-life-threatening injuries.”
Three teens were playing on a nearby hole when Micah Luckett, one of the three, informed the others that he had spotted the plane heading towards the course.
Max Renshaw, one the other teens, said that he told him there was a plane crashing. “All of a sudden, we hear a loud bang. All three of us immediately drop our bags, and rush up the hill. The plane crashes. Micah (called) 911.”
Renshaw stated that Mason Harth, the third teen, checked on the four passengers.
Flight Aware reports that a plane registered with the matching number took off from Taylorville in Illinois at 12:48 p.m. It was due to land in Gallatin, Tennessee shortly before 3:00 p.m. Flight Aware tracking shows that the plane had passed the confluence between the Ohio and Wabash rivers in southern Posey County before it turned around and headed towards Evansville.
The identities of the passengers have not been revealed.
Luckett stated that he called 911 to report the accident. A dispatcher informed him that they had been alerted to a small aircraft with engine problems.
A Evansville Police Department officer watches the crash site of a small plane at Helfrich Golf Course, Evansville, Ind. on Sunday, October 30, 2022. (Photo by Stan Sussina/Evansville Courier & Press).
“(911) asked which hole and golf course I preferred because there were already people out going to get them,” Luckett replied.
Harth, who checked on the passengers, stated that he found two adults as well as two children.
Harth stated, “They are all just lying there (by the airplane)”. “None of them (badly) hurt.”
Harth stated that the pilot had told him that there was an engine problem on the flight.
The scene was secured by the EPD for further investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. According to Sarah Sulick, NTSB spokesperson, a preliminary report on the crash could be published within three weeks.
It may take longer for the agency to release the final analysis of the crash.
Sulick stated that the FAA arrived on the scene to retrieve the plane for NTSB’s further investigation at an undisclosed site. The final report will include the probable cause and contributing factors. This can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months.
The teenagers said that they only play on the course once a week. The green fees for Helfrich are lower since the city has been repairing damage from equipment failures in the last year.
Usually it’s Renshaw and Luckett. Harth was invited along by them on Sunday. They confessed to getting more than they bargained.
Harth stated, “Best five dollars I’ve ever spent.”
