A Convair 580 freighter operated by Air Tahoma has crashed in an agricultural field outside of Lockbourne, Ohio killing all three crew members on board. The accident happened just after noon on September 1, 2008, shortly after the aircraft (registration number N587X) had departed from Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK), south of Columbus, Ohio, en route to Mansfield, Ohio. The FAA's preliminary report about the Air Tahoma accident indicates that it was a training flight.News reports about the accident say that minutes after takeoff, the crew had communicated via radio that they intended to return to LCK, where the aircraft was based, but did not request any emergency equipment to stand by. Shortly afterward, the aircraft struck a row of trees and crashed into a cornfield located in Pickaway County near the town of Lockbourne, where it caught fire. The aircraft was completely destroyed. An eyewitness quoted by the Columbus Dispatch said she saw no fire or smoke coming from the aircraft before it crashed.
The Columbus Dispatch, quoting the State Highway Patrol, identified the crew members who perished in the crash as Urs Anderegg, 58, and Sean Gardiner, 41, both of Miami, FL, and James Monahan, 57, of Plantation, FL. Condolences to the families, colleagues and friends of these men.
