Pilot Kirk Hansen failed to clear ice off plane in crash that killed 9 in family: report

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Federal investigators confirmed that the buildup of ice on the wings and other parts of the plane was a key factor in a 2019 crash that killed nine of 12 members of an Idaho family on board an overloaded small plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in its report on the Nov. 30, 2019 crash near Chamberlain, South Dakota, that the single-engine plane didn’t even have enough seats for all the passengers aboard, and two people were likely seated in the aisles when it crashed shortly after takeoff. The report said the plane was about 100 pounds overweight, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

The crash killed nine members of the Hansen family from Idaho Falls, Idaho, including the pilot Kirk Hansen. They were returning home from an annual pheasant-hunting trip in South Dakota when the plane crashed.

The report said the pilot made several key errors that contributed to the crash including failing to remove all the snow and ice from the plane even though a witness told investigators that the pilot and a passenger spent three hours clearing snow and ice before takeoff.

Carey Story, who owns the lodge where the family was staying, said she urged the family to stay another night because of the snow storm but the pilot refused and said they needed to get home.

The report said the pilot told Story “the airplane was 98% good and the remaining ice would come off during takeoff.”

But the report said that 10 minutes before takeoff there were visible icicles hanging from the plane’s horizontal stabilizer, and snow was falling heavily. Video from the crash, and a transcript of communications with the tower indicate the runway was at least partly covered with snow.

Previously, the NTSB said three of the Pilatus PC12 plane’s warning systems — the stall warning, stick shaker and stick pusher — activated within seconds of liftoff. The plane only managed to climb 460 feet into the air before it crashed less than a mile from the Chamberlain airport. The other family members who died were James Hansen, Jim Hansen, Stockton Hansen, Logan Hansen, Kyle Naylor, Tyson Dennert, Jake Hansen, and Houston Hansen.