A 78-year-old Marine veteran was recognized because the pilot killed when the non-public jet — owned by Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil — he was flying crashed into one other aircraft on the runway at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona Monday afternoon.
Joie Vitosky, a licensed flight engineer and pilot, was pronounced useless on the scene after touchdown gear on the Learjet 35A owned by the rock star failed, inflicting the plane to ram right into a parked Gulfstream 200 upon touchdown, in line with the Scottsdale Police Division.
Vitosky was the one deadly sufferer of the crash. One other pilot and two passengers on the non-public flight from Texas have been injured however survived.
“I actually, wholeheartedly imagine that the explanation these different passengers are alive – it’s due to how he dealt with it yesterday,” his daughter, Jana Schertzer, instructed The Arizona Republic Tuesday, including that her father had 60 years of flying expertise.
Neil was not on the flight, however his girlfriend Rain Andreani, who suffered 5 damaged ribs, and her pal have been on the aircraft, along with a second pilot — all of whom have been taken to the hospital.
Two canine belonging to the 2 feminine passengers additionally survived the crash. One individual was aboard the Gulfstream jet and was not injured.
Vitosky, an Oklahoma native, joined the Marine Corps in his early twenties with a craving to fly. He later grew to become a Marine Corps aviator who flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969, his ex-wife Ann Vitosky instructed The Related Press.
Following greater than a decade of army service, the slain pilot began flying Learjets.
Vitosky has been a licensed flight engineer since 1978 and a pilot since 2019, in line with the Federal Aviation Administration.
“His ardour was flying,” his ex-wife stated, including that the daddy of three died doing what he cherished.
Schertzer echoed these remarks whereas stressing that her father, who additionally leaves behind two grandchildren, was in good well being and was a particularly succesful pilot.
“As a substitute of, , retiring and doing nothing, he did it actually till the day he died,” Schertzer instructed The Arizona Republic.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner will decide Vitosky’s reason behind demise.
Harrowing footage captured the second the rocker’s jet smashed into the opposite aircraft, displaying it skidding and struggling to come back to a cease because it sped down the runway earlier than hitting the parked plane.
The Scottsdale Airport was closed to all air visitors Monday however reopened Tuesday morning with the blessing of native officers.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board is investigating the collision.
“Our hearts exit to his household and pals presently,” police stated, addressing Vitosky’s family members.
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