KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Utah State Board of Education member, his wife and two of their children died Friday morning and another child was hurt when their small plane crashed while taking off from a relative’s grass airstrip in southwest Missouri, authorities said.
Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Jeff Kinder said witnesses reported that the Beechcraft A-36 got about 100 feet off the ground before stalling in a rural area near the town of Huggins. C. Mark Openshaw, 43, a member of the Utah education board since 2008, and his family were returning to their Provo, Utah, home after visiting relatives.
Kinder identified the other victims as Openshaw’s wife, Amy, 43; their 15-year-old son, Tanner; and 12-year-old daughter, Ellie. The couple’s 5-year-old son was taken to a Springfield-area hospital in serious condition. Openshaw, a pilot who served on the Provo Municipal Airport Board, has two other surviving children.
Steve Gleason, the manager of the Provo Airport, described Openshaw as a “very experienced pilot,” adding that he was “meticulous in the way he took care of his plane.”
“He was just always happy and energetic and just a great guy,” Gleason said. “It is a sad day for us.”