SHERIDAN — On Monday night, a small plane crash near Sheridan, Wyoming, killed a 13-year-old girl and injured three others.
On Tuesday, the Sheridan County Coroner's Office confirmed that Amelia Palmer was killed in the crash, and the other three people on board were her family. At this time, the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Watch this video to hear a pilot analyze the crash:
Longtime pilot Robert Katz spoke to MTN on Tuesday, analyzing what he thinks could have gone wrong.
"In Dayton, Wyoming, there was a crash with one fatality," Katz said, as he showed MTN how to access information on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website. "This was certainly a tragedy."
Katz has flown planes for 43 years and works as a commercial pilot in Dallas. He said he spends some time every day on the FAA website, checking in on the latest aviation incidents that have happened around the country.
"I go to this page every day to look up details from an official source," Katz said.
The website reveals the type of aircraft, who the plane is registered to, and previous flight information. Katz said the aircraft in this crash has a few concerning qualities.
"First and foremost, the airplane was built in 1965," Katz said. "That's 60 years ago. Oftentimes, planes that are this old will struggle at higher elevations."
Katz was also looking closely at the elevation of the aircraft. He said it never reached higher than 7,000 feet above sea level, even though it appears that the plane was attempting to get over the Big Horn Mountains, which sit around 10,000 feet above sea level.
Katz said the weight on board appeared to be a factor as to why the plane never reached a higher elevation.
"You have two adults on board and two children, plus I assume the fuel was full," Katz said. "It's entirely possible that it was very close to gross weight if not over its limit. That's going to affect its climb performance."
Katz said it's alarming how often these crashes are happening. According to the FAA website, there have been 145 crashes in just the past two weeks with another happening in Red Lodge on Sunday.
Earlier this summer, Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund was killed after crashing his plane just outside of Billings.
"The circumstances for all of these incidents are, for the most part, preventable," Katz said.
While it's still unclear what led to Monday's crash or whether any mistakes were made, Katz said it's a good reminder of what can go wrong and why safety in the skies is so important.
"The destination is the goal, but the expectation must always be to divert," Katz said.
