Two students and a flight instructor from ASU East died during a flying certification exercise Sunday in Sedona.
The small propeller plane, an A-36 Beechcraft Bonanza owned by Mesa Pilot Development, clipped a fence shortly after takeoff and was sent plummeting down a 500-foot deep canyon adjacent to the Sedona airport, according to Dana Schmidt, assistant chief of Sedona police.
The plane ultimately crashed against a far wall near the bottom of the steep and rugged ravine, said Schmidt, adding that the plane was engulfed in flames when he and his team arrived.
"We don't know if it was the weather or mechanical-related problems," Schmidt said. "All we know is that it didn't have enough power to clear the fence."
A witness who called the police said the events occurred around noon.
Two students of the Aeronautical Management Technology Department, junior Christopher Matthew Anderson, 18, and freshman Scott Altman, 28, were on board the plane with flight instructor and graduate student Angela Renee LaClair, 34. It is not yet known who was piloting the aircraft.
Police officers and officials from the National Transportation and Safety Board airlifted the three bodies out of the canyon Monday morning.
"There wasn't a lot anyone could do at that point," Schmidt said. "We secured the plane for evidentiary purposes."
ASU East spokesman Jeff Holeman said the three students were on an instrument certification flight.
The certification requires students to determine where they are going without using the ground as a reference point; for example, students could use clouds, Holeman said.
"ASU East and the flight program are a tightknit community," Holeman said. "There have been tears shed. Everyone is upset - faculty, staff, students in the flight program. We are pulling together and helping each other as much as we can."
Bill McCurry, chair of ASU East's aeronautical technology department, said both Anderson and LaClair were students of his.
"She was a very outgoing leader," McCurry said of LaClair, whom he has known for five years. "These folks are much more than names; they were people with family members."
McCurry said Anderson was a good student who loved to fly.
"He was very enthusiastic about a flying career," McCurry said. "His father is a pilot and flying was their life."
McCurry said he has faith in the future of the program.
"When something like this happens, it's devastating," McCurry said. "But we are pragmatic about [flying]. It's something we want to do rather than drive on the freeway on a Saturday night."
Officials are still conducting an investigation.
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Reach the reporter at sarah.muench@asu.edu.