NTSB: Crashed plane built for 6, not 7

RUIDOSO, N. M. (KRQE) - The twin-engine Cessna plane involved in Thursday's deadly plane crash in Ruidoso was built for six people, but there were seven passengers on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the extra weight on board may  or may not have contributed to the crash.

"I've been asked if what they did was legal; I don't get into whether it's legal or not," NTSB investigator Tim LeBaron said late Friday afternoon. "What I get into is whether or not the airplane could have flown safely with that much weight in there. That's something I'm working on, getting the weight of the individuals.

"We already found paperwork that shows the weight of the aircraft, and we will compute."

The NTSB will decide if there was a weight issue or a center-of-gravity issue.

Initial information received by the NTSB is that weather was not a factor.  They said the plane was out of control when it hit and cartwheeled until it came to a rest.

The two Texas families on board were bringing cremated remains to New Mexico for a memorial service, New Mexico State Police said.

The two couples and three children had planned to spend the night in Ruidoso before proceeding to Albuquerque Friday. Instead their twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed short of the runway at Sierra Blanca Regional killing five and leaving two teenage brothers in the intensive-care unit of an El Paso, Texas, hospital.

On board the flight were the ashes of Mary Richey, 70, a University of New Mexico graduate who died in August in Granbury, Texas, according to her obituary.

Her son, Karl Lowell Richey, 46, his wife Keri, 44, and their son Lake, 11, died in the crash along with Rodney Duree, 49, and Delanie Duree, 50.

The Richey's sons, Alexander, 16, and Christopher, 12, were thrown from the wreckage and survived with serious injuries.

News 13 has learned that Mary and Karl Richey grew up in Albuquerque. Mary graduated from Albuquerque High School and then got her degree from the University of New Mexico.

The plane was registered to Rodney Duree, who is the chairman of the Granbury Municipal Airport Board.

Karl Richey was a basketball coach at a Granbury Middle School. Keri Richey was a 1st-grade teacher at Oak Woods Elementary School, according to the Hood County (Texas) Sheriff's Department.

The Associated Press reported that the close-knit town of Granbury was mourning the loss of the Richeys and Durees, families well-known in the community.

The National Transportation Safety Board is on site and has taken over this investigation. The crash occurred at 10:37 a.m. under clear conditions.

The airport is between Ruidoso and Capitan on an 8,000-foot mesa where local officials say the elevation and proximity to mountains can make flying difficult for pilots not accustomed to those conditions.

On Thursday State Police said they believed the plane was coming in too low as it approached the airport. Rod Duree, the pilot, made routine contact with the airport for landing instructions about five minutes before the crash.

On Friday morning news media were allowed a closer look at the crash site in a canyon east of the east-west runway. NTSB investigators could be seen sifting through the rubble.

The box containing the ashes of Mary Richey was not damaged in the crash. The remains were picked up by LaGrone Funeral Chapel in Ruidoso.

The memorial service scheduled for Saturday in Albuquerque has been canceled.

NTSB investigators plan to be on the scene for the next day or two. The final report may take up to a full year to be completed.