Two men died and one suffered severe burns when a small plane crashed and burned in a densely wooded area of the Coconino National Forest above Sedona on Thursday, Nov. 13, around 4:45 p.m.
Brothers, Michael Johnson, 66, of Laveen, Ariz., and Tom Johnson, 64, of Kountze, Texas, both died when the PA-32 Cherokee Six, Saratoga Turbo, piloted by their cousin, Rockney Herring, 51, of Orange, Texas, plummeted and exploded on top of Schnebly Hill Road.
By Alison Ecklund
Larson Newspapers
Two men died and one suffered severe burns when a small plane crashed and burned in a densely wooded area of the Coconino National Forest above Sedona on Thursday, Nov. 13, around 4:45 p.m.
Brothers, Michael Johnson, 66, of Laveen, Ariz., and Tom Johnson, 64, of Kountze, Texas, both died when the PA-32 Cherokee Six, Saratoga Turbo, piloted by their cousin, Rockney Herring, 51, of Orange, Texas, plummeted and exploded on top of Schnebly Hill Road.
Herring miraculously managed to crawl out of the wreckage and call 9-1-1 from his cell phone. He remains in the Arizona Burn Center at press time, burned over 50 percent of his body and in a medically-induced coma, according to reports.
The two Texans had traveled to Arizona for the first time in 30 years to visit their brother and cousin, Michael Johnson, his son Micah Johnson said Friday, Nov. 14.
The plane flew to Buckeye earlier in the day, then stopped at the Sedona Airport to refuel.
From the top of Airport Mesa, one of the men sent family members a text message that said they’d be back in Laveen for dinner.
According to the airport’s manager Mac McCall, the airport has record that the plane — 3929W — fueled up around 4:15 p.m.
Herring reported that shortly after leaving the Sedona Airport, the plane lost power, according to Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rex Gilliland.
An off-duty New York firefighter was four-wheeling in the area and the first on scene.
Also in the area was a Pink Jeep tour in progress with a visiting internal medicine doctor on board. When Sedona Fire District and Pinewood Fire Department firefighters and paramedics arrived, the doctor went to the scene with them.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Guardian Medical Transport, the U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters, CCSO Search and Rescue and Arizona Department of Public Safety also responded.
Four other Pink Jeep guides, who know how rugged the terrain is near the accident site, took off up Schnebly Hill Road to help transport crews closer to the scene.
Fire trucks used Forest Service Road 153A — the Basalt Loop Trail — to get closer to the site, but crews had to carry thin, wildland fire hoses half a mile to reach the flames and prevent the fire from spreading, SFD Fire Marshal Will Loesche said.
Emergency personnel bushwhacked their way to the site, using chain saws to access the rugged area.
According to CCSO Public Information Officer Gerry Blair, parts of the aircraft were distinguishable, including a wing and what appeared to be the mangled remains of the fuselage.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash site Nov. 14. CCSO, the FAA, the NTSB and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office are continuing investigations.
“My uncle and father were amazing men,” Micah Johnson said after visiting the crash site with family.
The two “jokesters” loved exploring, he said. “I couldn’t begin to say enough about them.”
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
