Scottsdale Fire Department firefighters work on a crashed Learjet at Scottsdale Airport after it crashed into another parked plane Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz.Photo:AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
The pilot killed whenMötley CrüesingerVince Neil’sprivate plane slammed into another parked jetin Arizona has been identified, authorities said.
Joie Vitosky, 78, was the pilot onboard Neil’s jet at the time of the incident. according to theArizona RepublicandThe New York Times.
The Learjet 35A was arriving at the Scottsdale Airport from Texas at 2:39 p.m. local time on Monday, Feb. 10, when it “veered off the runway and struck a parked Gulfstream 200,”the city of Scottsdale said in a release. The crash also left several others injured, including the singer’s girlfriend and her friend,NBC affiliate KPNXandFox Newsreported.
One person, now known to be Vitosky, was pronounced dead at the scene. “Three others sustained injuries and were transported to Valley hospitals for treatment. Another individual refused medical treatment,” officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
Jana Schertzer, Vitosky’s daughter, told theRepublicthat her father had been flying for 60 years, beginning when he was with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Schertzer said her dad, who had three kids and two grandchildren, had “perfect” vision and was a very capable pilot.
“I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that the reason those other passengers are alive — it’s because of how he handled it yesterday,” she told the paper.
Vitosky became a certified flight engineer in 1978 and a pilot in 2019, according toFAA records.
Vitosky was originally from Okemah, Okla., his ex-wife Ann Vitosky told theAssociated Press. She said her ex-husband joined the Marine Corps so he could fly, and flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969.
More than a decade later, Vitosky began flying Learjets, like the one involved in the fatal crash. “His passion was flying,” his ex-wife said.
“Instead of, you know, retiring and doing nothing, he did it literally until the day he died," Schertzer told theRepublic.
Meanwhile, Neil was not on the plane when the collision occurred, according to astatementshared on the band’s social media.
Jet Pros, the company that owns the other plane that was hit, said in a statement that one crew member was aboard at the time of the collision.
He was “treated and released” and the company is “cooperating fully” with authorities.
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Dramatic video of the crash shows the plane speeding down the runway before slamming into the second aircraft.
“Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved,” Worrick Robinson, IV, Neil’s representative, said in the statement shared on social media.
source: people.com
