Plane Went Down Just After Takeoff From Johnson County, KS Municipal Airport

Two people were fatally injured Tuesday when the plane they were aboard went down shortly after takeoff from Johnson County Municipal Airport (KOJC) in Kansas.

Television station WDAF reports that the two people on board the aircraft were pilot Jonathan Vanatta, 48, who was an investigator for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. His passenger was 43-year-old Darcy Matthews.

The U.S. Justice department said the plane that Vanatta and Matthews were aboard did not belong to the U.S. government, and that Matthews was not a DEA employee. A DOJ spokesperson said that Vanatta was not on assignment at the time of the accident, but did not comment on why he was in Kansas.

Ed Malinowski, an NTSB air safety investigator said that the damage to the plane is "consistent with nearly vertical impact." Witnesses living near the airport said the plane made a sharp left turn just after takeoff at around 4:00 p.m. local time. There was a post-impact fire.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the aircraft as a 2000 model Mooney M20S. The plane was registered to Marvin Vannatta Jr. of Shelbyville, TN, according to FAA records. Jonathan Vanatta is listed as a second owner of the airplane. The most recent airworthiness certificate for the plane was issued on December 20, 2019, according to the FAA registry.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: Source report