Locust Grove, AR Private Plane Crashes, Nov 1988

SIX PERISH AS PLANE CRASHES IN ARKANSAS.

Batesville, Ark. (UPI) -- A twin-engine plane owned by a Texas millionaire lawyer crashed in rain and fog while flying to Arkansas on a deer-hunting and sightseeing trip, killing all six people aboard, authorities said Saturday.
Gerrie Cook, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in the agency's southwest region at Fort Worth, Texas, said the turbo-prop Beech 90 King Air craft crashed Friday on a landing attempt on a road.
"The plane crashed 3 1/2 miles west of Locust Grove on Highway 25 on its second approach to the airport at Batesville," Cook said.
Initial reports said seven people were killed, though officials at Orange County, Texas, airport where the flight, originated said only six people were aboard. One unidentified man canceled at the last minute.
Maurice Hager, dispatcher for the Independence County (Ark.) sheriff's department, confirmed there were six dead. He said the plane crashed in heavy rain and dense fog, making the cause of the accident likely weather-related. An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board office in Kansas City, Mo., was to arrive at the accident site later Saturday to begin an investigation.
Batesville is located about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock.
In tentative identifications, they said the dead were:
MARLIN THOMPSON, 62, a millionaire attorney and former city manager of Orange.
His wife, no age available.
The pilot, MIKE BEAUMONT, hometown and age unknown.
BEAUMONT'S wife, name and age unknown.
JOSEPH R. STEELE, an Orange attorney and THOMPSON'S law partner.
DEWEY COX, SR., 52, of Mauriceville, Texas, a labor leader.

Daily Herald Chicago Illinois 1988-11-20
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!