NTSB report reveals new details on private plane crash in Arizona

USA Today

28-02-2025

NTSB report reveals new details on private plane crash in Arizona
The private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil that was involved in a deadly crash in Arizona earlier this month appeared to experience a landing gear malfunction, a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The report said the plane's left landing gear was not in its normal position when it was seen on Feb. 10 descending to Scottsdale Airport, where it crashed into another private aircraft, killing 78-year-old pilot Joie Vitosky and injuring four others.
Eight months before the deadly crash, the same plane was involved in a "landing mishap," the report said. On June 20, 2024, the plane made a hard landing just short of a runway in McAlester, Oklahoma, before bouncing several times, causing the left main landing gear's tires to burst. Neil became the owner of the jet within the last several months, after the landing mishap in June, the report said.
The Learjet's owner before Neil hired a mechanic who performed a hard-landing inspection. Investigators interviewed the mechanic who said he used a maintenance manual for all the work he performed.
More: Pilot killed in Arizona plane crash was veteran who flew for 60 years, daughter says
The report added that the Learjet's flight time and maintenance cycles since the hard landing took place remains unknown. However, a mechanic who completed a landing gear servicing in December told investigators "nothing appeared unusual," but noted that the left landing gear "took an excessive amount of grease."
On the day of the deadly crash, the flight crew did not make any radio calls about the plane's landing gear not working properly. The report added that the Learjet was not equipped with reverse thrusters and its drag chute was not deployed.
An official cause behind the landing gear's failure likely won't be known until the investigation's final report is published. Such reports can take between one to two years before being made available.
According to the report, the plane departed from Florida on Feb. 10 before stopping to refuel in Austin, Texas, and heading for Scottsdale.
Just after the crash, the report states, the right-seated passenger regained consciousness and woke up the left-seated passenger, who was thrown forward in the passenger cabin. The right-seated passenger then used the emergency exit to get our of the plane before turning back to retrieve the other passenger.
Police identified the one fatal victim as Vitosky, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who had decades of flying experience. Neil's girlfriend, Rain Hannah Andreani, 43, is the only person on board the plane who has been publicly identified other than Vitosky. Neil was not on the plane at the time of the crash.
The NTSB lists 15 fatal aircraft incidents in the Scottsdale area and four incidents involving a serious injury, with the earliest going back to the 1970s. The last fatal crash at the Scottsdale Airport was in 2018. A pilot, student pilot and four passengers were killed after the plane crashed shortly after takeoff.