The Latest: Witness says plane nosedived before crash
The Associated Press - June 23, 2019 8:40 am
Remnants of an aircraft carrying nine people lies on the ground near a fence that surrounds Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia, Oahu, on Friday. (Bruce Asato/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)
HONOLULU (AP) – An eyewitness to the crash of a plane carrying sky divers in Hawaii saw the plane take flight, get 75 feet to 100 feet (23 meters to 30 meters) off the ground and turn away from the mountain range nearby.
Steven Tickemyer says the plane started to nosedive, then flip over belly forward so that it was upside down. The aircraft then flipped over again and hit the ground nose first. He says there was an explosion when it hit the ground.
Eleven people died in the crash Friday night on Oahu’s North Shore.
Tickemyer says this all happened in about 20 to 30 seconds. He and his friends were watching from a beach across the street where they were attending a friend’s small wedding ceremony. The group hopped in Tickemyer’s truck, called 911, and drove over to help. They screamed to see if anyone would call for help, but no one responded.