Plane Went Down After Reporting Electrical Issues

A Cessna 150 with two people on board reported to be a father and his son. went down while attempting to land at Festus Memorial Airport (KFES) in Festus, MO, Thursday night. The accident resulted in the fatal injury of both occupants of the airplane.

Television station KMOV reports that, according to Festus Memorial Airport Vice President Mike Bippen, the pilot, whose name has not been released by authorities, was an American Airlines pilot who was returning from a trip to New York State where he had bought a Cessna 150. They planned to refurbish the plane and use it for flight training for his son, who was the other person on board the aircraft. The pilot was reportedly in his mid-fifties, and his son was in his mid-20s.

Bippen said that at some point, the plane appears to have lost all electrical power. That let to multiple instrument failures, including his comm radio. The runway light system at KFES is activated by keying the radio microphone multiple times, but with no power to the radio, the pilot was unable to activate the lights.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department Corporal John Kozel said that the pilot had texted his fiance to ask her to try to activate the lights at the airport. She reportedly stood at the end of the runway with a flashlight while the pilot made a landing attempt. The pilot missed the approach, and the accident occurred while he was circling around for a second attempt.

The plane went down between 200 and 300 yards from the runway, according to Bippen.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: Source report