Osage Beach Plane Crash Investigation Continues Without Initial Signs of Mechanical Failure

Osage Beach, MO (The Lake Tribune) – Investigators are still piecing together the details of a tragic airplane crash that occurred on July 12th, which resulted in the deaths of two young men and serious injuries to another passenger in Osage Beach. The incident involved a Piper-PA-28 aircraft that went down shortly after takeoff from the Grand Glaize airport.

Witness accounts noted the plane flying with its tail lower than the nose before it made a sharp bank and crashed nose-down into a dense forest area near Route KK. The two fatalities were identified as 22-year-old Hayden Ritchhart of Carrollton and 19-year-old Evan Vandiver of Richmond. Gary Vandiver, 54, also from Richmond, survived but sustained severe injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a preliminary inspection of the wreckage, which did not indicate any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have impeded normal flight operations. However, the comprehensive investigation is ongoing, and a final report on the cause of the crash is expected to take additional months to complete.

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