A South Dakota Plane Crash Kills Nine, Several Reportedly Dead From Same Family

CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (AP) – The Latest on South Dakota Plane Crash (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

An Idaho-based company says its two founders and seven of their relatives died in a weekend plane crash in South Dakota.

Travis Garza, president of the wellness company Kyani, said in a Facebook post that the crash near Chamberlain on Saturday afternoon killed founders Jim and Kirk Hansen. Garza says the wreck also killed Jim Hansen’s father, Jim Hansen Sr.; Kirk Hansen’s children, Stockton and Logan; his sons-in-law, Kyle Taylor and Tyson Dennert; and Jim Hansen’s son, Jake, and grandson, Houston.

Three other extended family members were hospitalized with injuries.

The Hansens were executives with Kyani, as well as with Conrad & Bischoff, a petroleum products distributor, and KJ’s Super Stores.

The East Idaho News, citing relatives, reported that the family had been on a hunting trip.

4:20 p.m.

The single-engine airplane that crashed in South Dakota, killing nine people and injuring three others, was registered to an Idaho company.

FlightAware, an online aircraft tracking site, listed the plane that crashed Saturday near Chamberlain as registered to Conrad & Bischoff Inc., a petroleum products distributor based in Idaho Falls.

Authorities haven’t released the names of the victims. But the East Idaho News, citing relatives, identified the victims as Jim Hansen Sr., his sons, Kirk and Jim Hansen Jr., and six other family members, including two children.

The Hansens were executives with Conrad & Bischoff, Kyani and KJ’s Super Stores. Kirk Hansen is a licensed pilot. Messages left by The Associated Press on Sunday with relatives were not immediately returned.

The National Transportation Safety Board says harsh wintry weather prevented federal investigators from reaching the crash site on Sunday.

2:45 p.m.

Harsh wintry weather is keeping federal investigators from reaching the site in South Dakota where a single-engine plane crashed, killing nine people and injuring three others.

Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board says three investigators are stuck Sunday in Sioux Falls, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) east of the crash site in Chamberlain.

Knudson says the plane was bound for Idaho Falls, Idaho, and crashed within a mile after takeoff on Saturday.

He says federal investigators will likely reach the crash site on Monday.

Authorities haven’t released the names of the victims. Brule County emergency manager Katheryn Benton told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that the passengers ranged in age from 7 to 81. She said the three survivors were three men ages 28, 27 and 17.

9:22 a.m.

Nine people died and three more were injured when a single-engine plane bound for Idaho crashed shortly after takeoff in South Dakota.

Peter Knudson with the National Transportation Safety Board told The Associated Press 12 people were aboard the Pilatus PC-12 when it crashed about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, shortly after taking off in Chamberlain, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Sioux Falls.

Knudson said nine people were killed and three were injured. The small plane was bound for Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Authorities have not released the names of the victims. Brule County emergency manager Katheryn Benton told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that the passengers ranged in age from 7 to 81. She said the three survivors were three men ages 28, 27 and 17.

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