Dodge City, KS — Two people were hospitalized after a plane crash that took place in Dodge City, Kansas, on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. The accident happened about half a mile south of U.S. 56.
Three people were inside the plane when the accident occurred. The pilot, 61-year old Joseph Baker and passengers 43-year old Stephanie Johnson and 33-year old Clarence Sponsell.
Reports say that the 1969 Cessna lost air speed. It clipped a few trees before going down in a field south of the Dodge City airport. Both Baker and Johnson were transported to Western Plains Hospital with unspecified injuries. Reports don’t make it clear if Sponsel was injured in the accident.
The accident is still being investigated. It isn’t clear if officials from the FAA or the NTSB have been notified of the accident yet.
Approximate Scene of the Accident
Commentary
I imagine that the FAA and the NTSB will be notified of the crash, and that they’ll conduct their own investigation into what happened here. Those agencies are good at what they do, but their investigations can be incredibly time consuming. Victims and their families having to wait up to six months for answers on what caused a plane to go down aren’t uncommon in these cases. Whenever someone was hurt or worse in an accident like this, six months can be a very long time. Especially when, after a plane crash, victims only have a set amount of time to do anything about them, and the clock on that time starts running the day the accident happened. Not the day the FAA releases its report on the crash. Independent investigations are perfectly equipped to get victims answers in these situations, without having to wait months. Beyond that, they’re going to focus on why an accident happened, not just what happened. And that information can be invaluable for those involved in these situations.
— Grossman Law Offices
