Couples, boy die in Ruidoso plane crash

RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) - Two Texas couples and an 11-year-old boy died Thursday morning when a private plane crashed short of a runway in Ruidoso; two brothers survived with serious injuries.

Late Thursday New Mexico State Police Lt. Eric Garcia identified the victims as Rodney and Delanie Duree, both about 50, and their son Lake, 11, and Karl and Keri Richey, about 46 and 44 respectively.

The Richey's sons Alexander, 16, and Christopher, 12, were ejected from the wreckage and survived the crash. They were airlifted to an El Paso, Texas, hospital and were reported to be in the intensive-care unit.

The plane, a twin-engine Cessna 310, was registered to Duree, who is the chairman of the Granbury, Texas, Municipal Airport Board.

Investigators believe the pilot came in too low to the airport located just above 6,800 feet elevation on a mesa between Ruidoso and Capitan. Ruidoso town officials said the high-altitude airport can be hard to handle at times.

Five minutes before the 10:37 a.m. crash the pilot gave no indication of trouble when he made contact with the airport saying he was ready to land.

"That was the last contact that the airport had with pilot indicating they were inbound," Garcia said. "They were about to land, and within a matter of minutes the witnesses standing outside at the flight strip indicated that they saw the aircraft go down in a rapid manner."

The plane hit just east of the runway in a canyon area where is sparked a small forest fire soon controlled by firefighters. The debris field from the crash spread about 150 feet.

The cause for the crash is still being investigated. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were at or en route to the scene.

NTSB will take over the investigation because there were fatalities.

The airport sits just above 6,800 feet elevation on a broad mesa between Ruidoso and Capitan.  A Ruidoso town official said takeoffs and landings can be tricky for pilots unaccustomed to flying near mountains and high-elevation airports.