Mark Goldstein identified as pilot killed in Wichita plane crash
Authorities have confirmed that only the pilot was on board of the Beechcraft King Air B200 when it struck the roof of a FlightSafety International building, killing at least three others, injuring at least five with various reports on people missing.
Mark Goldstein photo/Twitter
Mark Goldstein, 53, was the pilot who was killed in the crash, said Ron Ryan, founder of Ryan International Airlines and a former colleague of Goldstein. Goldstein, who was the only one on board the plane, was a retired FAA air traffic controller. He was working as an independent contract pilot, Ryan said to Kansas.com, verified by sources speaking with the Global Dispatch Thursday afternoon.
Goldstein was taking the the plane on a test flight as it had recently been inspected and according to his Facebook page, Goldstein had been attending a course at the FlightSafety building that he crashed into.
Five people were transported to Via Christi St. Francis Hospital after the plane crashed,authorities said.
Three people had been treated and released, one was in serious condition and one was in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
A minute after the plane was cleared by air-traffic control for take-off, the pilot declared an emergency and said he had lost his left engine, according to the control tower’s audio tape. The Federal Aviation Administration also confirmed the plane was trying to return shortly after take-off when it hit a building.
The flight was headed to Mena, Ark., according to FlightAware.
As of late Thursday afternoon, four people were still missing. Crews searched three of the building’s four simulator rooms and didn’t find any victims, city Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said.Crews hadn’t been able to search the fourth simulator room due to “collapse concerns that we have,” Crisp said.
