Fatal plane crash investigation underway
Fatal plane crash investigation underway
08/27/2025
UPDATE: SEPT. 9: The NTSB has issued its preliminary report in this crash. It states, in part, "About 25 miles from the airport, the airplane descended and entered the traffic pattern for a left base turn. The airplane’s altitude was lower than normal for a standard traffic pattern and continued to descend.
An eyewitness who lived near the accident site reported that the airplane appeared to be low and slow. The airplane’s left wing dipped down momentarily, returned wings level, then the left wing dipped again, and the airplane rolled left until it collided with terrain."
UPDATE: AUG. 29
The victims have been officially identified as 76-year-old Mark W. Spelts and 75-year-old Victoria "Vickie" A. Spelts of Chico, California.
UPDATE: AUG. 28
The medical examiner has not yet confirmed the identities of the two people killed in the plane crash yesterday. They are awaiting dental records. However, evidence recovered at the scene and discussions with family members indicate they are Mark and Vickie Spelts of Chico, Calif. Mark Spelts’ business also has announced that he and Vickie passed away in a plane crash in Clay County. The Sheriff's Office will provide updated information when the victims' identities are confirmed forensically.
The couple had come from an airport in Washington, Mo., and intended to land at the Midwest National Air Center.
ORIGINAL: AUG. 27
The Clay County Sheriff's Office is investigating a plane crash that occurred just north of the Midwest National Air Center near Mosby.
Dispatchers received a call about heavy smoke coming from a field near NE 140th St. and Rhodus Road just before noon today, Aug. 27. Callers believed it may have been from a plane crash. When deputies arrived, they located a Cessna C340 fully engulfed in flames in a soybean field. There were at least two occupants inside, and they have been confirmed deceased.
The plane appeared to have been trying to land at the Midwest National Air Center. Preliminary information indicates it may have come from an airport outside of the St. Louis metro area. Investigators are working to identify the occupants of the plane, and afterward, they will notify the occupants' next of kin. Their identifies will be released when that is completed.
Air traffic at the airport remains closed until 5 p.m. Aug. 27 while the investigation is ongoing. Sheriff's Office investigators have notified the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, which will take over the investigation into what caused the crash.
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