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May 1, 2008

Plane crash investigation may take up to a year

Sheila Stogsdill

MIAMI – Investigation into why a plane crashed on the Will Rogers Turnpike may take up to a year, a Federal Aviation Administration official said Tuesday.

Clair E. Tromsness, 72, of rural Quapaw, was piloting the high-performance plane Monday when it nose-dived onto the turnpike near Miami.

“A preliminary cause should be released in a couple of weeks,” said Roland Herwig, FAA spokesman. “It could take anywhere from two months up to a year before finding out any permanent cause (of why the plane crashed).”

The plane’s propeller, engine and cockpit was strewn across the westbound side of the roadway as authorities examined the crash. The tail of the plane was on the eastbound side of the highway.

No passengers were on board, and no motorists were injured.

Tromsness had told family members the home-built single engine aircraft was having problems. He had just left the Miami airport shortly before the plane crashed.

The plane was modeled after a World War II fighter plane.

Tromsness’ wife, Florence, said he had owned the plane for about a year.

“He was really still trying to learn the plane,” Florence Tromsness said. “He hadn't had a chance to fly it very much, and he’d been wanting to for the last several days.”

Florence Tromsness said her husband had reported problems with the Turbine Legend since he purchased it about a year ago.

“It's been giving us trouble,” she said. “It hasn’t been completely finished.”

Witnesses reportedly saw the plane exhibiting problems in the air prior to the crash, doing flip-flops and then shooting straight up in the air, and coming down fast and hit the ground hard.

Tromsness started the Miami Missionary Tent Manufacturing Co. in 1980. The company manufactured and shipped tents to 135 countries for use as revival tents for Christian ministries, as well as tents for the rental industry for weddings and parties. He retired and turned the business over to his son, David, in the 1990s.

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