St. Louis Plane Crash Claims 2 Victims
A plane crash near a St. Louis airport last Wednesday gradually claimed the lives of a married couple over the course of five days. The rescue team’s valiant attempts to preserve the lives of the victims were commendable. Federal Investigators are searching for the source of the wreck.
Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Monday a spokesperson for DePaul Hospital stated the last survivor Suzanne Hazelton, a 69-year-old of the St. Louis crash died. She had been on life support since being extricated from the terrifying accident. Investigators have been able to determine that she was the only passenger in the four-seat plane.
Suzanne was on a trip from Pennsylvania to Creve Coeur Airport in St. Louis. Flight records show the plane taking off from a municipal airport outside of Columbus, Ohio around 6 p.m., where it made a refueling stop.
Russell C. Hazelton, a 78-year-old from Pennsylvania was piloting the Piper Cherokee, who records show is the registered owner of the plane and a former captain with Trans World Airlines and most recently a director at Penn Security Bank and Trust.
At about 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday calls regarding a plane crash about two miles from Creve Coeur Airport at Creve Coeur Lake reached emergency respondents.
Maryland Heights deputy police Chief Bill Carson told St. Louis Public Radio that emergency personnel did not receive any mayday calls from the plane, however.
Witnesses say the small plane appeared to be experiencing mechanical problems as it approached the airport. It appeared to be trying to land on a beach on the east side of the lake. “But, instead of hitting the shore the plane actually hit the water and flipped over upside down,” Carson said.
When rescue personnel arrived, both victims had been under water for several minutes before being rescued. The cockpit was submerged and they were having a difficult time attempting to pry it open. Multiple police officers got under the wings and lifted it out of the water to keep the pilot and passenger from drowning. Dive teams found no additional victims.
“Their efforts to get the people out of the plane, to perform CPR, and transport them to the hospital were very valiant efforts to save this couple,” Carson said.
Russell was declared dead on the scene. It is yet unknown he died exactly. He could have drowned or died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash. “The medical examiner’s office will certainly be doing an evaluation to determine if the injuries were trauma-related from the crash or if it was a drowning injury.”
His wife Suzanne, the only passenger, was rushed to DePaul Hospital in critical condition.
Federal Aviation Administration personnel arrived to the scene with investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.
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Reviewed by Chris H. in 2012.