The plane went down Wednesday night, killing all 6 people on board -- 3 of whom were children.
Friday, NTSB investigators arrived at the crash site for an investigation which is not going to be easy.
The location is rugged and difficult to access, and the plane itself was reduced to ash.
Less than 48 hours after that plane crash in the Superstitions, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are on the ground working to piece together the last moments of that twin engine craft to shed some light on what happened Wednesday night.
“The wreckage has a story to tell and hopefully with trained eyes we can understand what were looking at and to the best of our ability assess what we have there,” says Michael Huhn, NTSB Investigator.
The speed of the plane, likely more than 200 miles per hour, along with the explosion and fire that followed decimated the plane, the victims, and the clues needed in this case.
“We gather the factual information first so I cannot give you any conclusions and conjecture right now.”
Meantime, those who work with Ponderosa Aviation year in and year out are just as confused as investigators, left to wonder why such a routine flight would turn fatal.
“Ponderosa has aircrafts that are on a national contract like we do and so fire aviation is very specialized and it’s a very small community,” says Beryl Shears from Western Pilot Service.
Beryl Shears, who operates a similar family-run fire fighting operation of single engine air tankers based here in the valley, told us this kind of crash just doesn't happen.
“They’re just a wonderful company wonderful families. I don’t know the Perrys but I do know the Hardys and it’s just a tragic loss,” says Shears.
For Beryl Shears and other experienced pilots, circumstances surrounding this crash just don't add up.
The NTSB is planning on lifting that wreckage off the mountain tomorrow so they can conduct a more thorough analysis here in a Phoenix warehouse.
The NTSB typically gives themselves a five day window before they put out any conclusive results, so we should know more early next week.
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