One of the families killed in a tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of all 14 people onboard on Sunday in Butte, Mont., had ties to Ketchum.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, the family of Brent Ching, 37, a dentist, his wife, Kristen Ching, 31, and their two children, Hailey, 5, and Caleb, 3, were killed in the crash. The story states that Brent is the son of Robert Ching. Robert and his wife, Phyllis Ching, own a home in Ketchum.
Robert Ching was to have hosted his son's family, as well as two other young families from California who were killed in the crash, at his vacation home at the exclusive Yellowstone Club resort south of Bozeman, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Investigators said Monday they'll look into whether the single-engine turboprop plane was overloaded when it nose-dived into a cemetery and killed all 14 people on board. The three families were headed to a ski trip.
"It will take us a while to understand," said Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, at a news conference. "We have to get the weights of all the passengers, we have to get the weight of the fuel, all of the luggage."
Investigators are also apparently looking into the possibility that ice on the plane's wings may have led to the crash, which killed seven adults and seven children, including the pilot.
The turboprop plane left Oroville, Calif., headed for Bozeman, but changed course to Butte, where it crashed on final approach Sunday. The pilot gave no indication to air traffic controllers that the aircraft was experiencing difficulty when he asked to divert to an airport in Butte, Rosenker said in an e-mail.
The plane crashed just short of the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte. Like thousands of small airports across the country, the Butte airport doesn't have radar control.
A witness said the plane jerked to the left before nose-diving into a cemetery.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
