Accident reports obtained from the Safford authorities confirmed the death of a man who encountered an accident while traveling on an airplane in Graham County, Arizona. The crash happened on Tuesday morning, June 9.
The Graham County Sheriff’s Office reported that the incident took place just after 8:50 a.m. Residents found the airplane’s wreckage in a hillside in the area of Sanford Road and Airport Road, where the crash reportedly occurred and notified the GCSO.
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Investigators gathered that the experimental aircraft, operated by Delos Dee Echlin, 79, of Tucson, took off from the Tucson International Airport at precisely 8 a.m. The plane was en route to Safford Airport when it struck a hillside located a few miles away from its destination.
Airport personnel told police that the flight went off the radar at about 8:50 a.m., which they believe was the estimated time of the mishap. They also confirmed that the pilot made no mayday calls before or during the accident.
A Safford local eventually found the wrecked plane on the hills just before noon, and placed an emergency call to the sheriff’s office, prompting their response. The Safford Fire Department and the Graham County Search and Rescue also responded to the accident. They found Echlin’s remains amid the wreckage and confirmed him deceased.
The Graham County Sheriff’s Office ordered an autopsy on the victim to commence Wednesday to determine his cause of death.
The incident remains under investigation, and the GCSO would release additional details in the accident reports once they are available.
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