Company Identifies 5 Employees Killed in Plane Crash on Their Way to Ohio

Emergency vehicles appear near the location where a small aircraft crashed while taking off from the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Ark., on Feb. 22, 2023. Staton Breidenthal/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP

Five employees of an environmental consulting firm who died when a small airplane they were traveling in crashed outside an industrial area of Little Rock, Arkansas, on Wednesday have been identified.

CTEH, an environmental consulting firm based in North Little Rock, said on Twitter that the five employees, all men, were “valuable members of our team and CTEH family.”

The employees were identified as Gunter Beaty, Kyle Bennett, Micah Kendrick, Sean Sweeney, and Glenmarkus Walker.

“It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the passing of our colleagues,” CTEH said in announcing their deaths. “We ask that you join us in praying for their families, friends, and everyone here at CTEH during this difficult time.”

The five men were on board the twin-engine Beech BE20 that was heading to John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday when it crashed a few miles south of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, authorities said.

A company spokesman told The Associated Press that the employees on the plane had been on their way to Ohio to respond to an explosion at a metal manufacturing plant in Bedford that killed one and injured dozens more.

CTEH is a firm that “empowers extraordinary teams of experts to help companies, governments, and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from threats to their environment and people,” according to its official website.

The website lists Bennett as a staffing manager with “seven years of experience responding to crude oil releases, well control events, trail derailments, chemical spills, and various other emergency responses and incidents in diverse settings.”

According to the website, Kendrick was a safety supervisor with experience in safety and industrial hygiene practices.

“His site safety responsibilities have included roles in industrial settings, construction, train derailments, chemical releases and wildfire clean up response,” the website states.

Cause of Crash Unknown

There were no employee profiles found on the website for Beaty, Sweeney, or Walker.

In an emailed statement to Fox News, CTEH said that Beaty was a production safety data manager, Walker was a rapid responder, and Sweeney was the pilot of the aircraft.

The plane crash occurred as a line of thunderstorms moved through the Little Rock area, prompting winds of 40 mph, according to The Associated Press, but it’s not yet clear what caused the crash.

According to a preliminary incident report from the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane crashed under “unknown circumstances” and burst into flames.

The Little Rock Police Department said in a Facebook post that emergency services were alerted about the crash at 12:02 p.m. local time.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating the incident.

A spokesperson for NTSB told the Arkansas Times: “Once on scene, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft.”

“Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information, air traffic control communication, maintenance records, and the pilot’s medical records. NTSB investigators will look at the human, machine, and environment as the outline of the investigation.”

The spokesperson added that a preliminary report on the crash could take 15 days.

“At this early stage of an investigation, NTSB does not state a cause but will provide factual information when available. Investigations involving fatalities, and other major investigations currently take between 12 and 24 months to complete,” the spokesperson said.