Family of 4 dead after plane bound for Telluride from Scottsdale crashes north of Payson
Two adults and two girls killed when their small plane bound for Telluride, Colorado, crashed on Monday near Payson have been identified as a Scottsdale-based attorney and his family, multiple sources say.
The Cessna 210 crashed with four people on board: a 31-year-old woman; her 44-year-old husband; and the husband's 12- and 14-year-old daughters from a previous marriage, according to a Scottsdale police report.
The Gila County Sheriff's Office verified that the plane's tail number matched FAA records identifying the owner as Eric Falbe of Scottsdale. Falbe's law partner, Michael Maledon, confirmed that Falbe was aboard the downed plane, as was wife Carrie Falbe and his two daughters.
"For those that worked with Eric, he will be remembered as a truly exceptional businessman and lawyer," Maledon said in an email. "He was the best kind of lawyer; highly capable and exceptionally practical. But beyond Eric’s professional accomplishments, Eric and Carrie will be remembered for their passion for life and warmth toward others. We mourn their loss and extend our deepest sympathies to their families."
Maledon said an investigator reached out to him Tuesday morning for information about the downed plane.
"I knew his tail number and I knew where he was heading, and I knew it must have been Eric," he said.
Maledon said he had taken several trips with Falbe in his plane, including several flights to Mexico last year. Falbe was a good pilot, Maledon said, adding that his friend "was always very safe and cautious every time I flew with him."
"The community lost a really exceptional family," Maledon said.
Falbe's daughters attended Cicero Preparatory Academy, a member of the Great Hearts Academies charter-school network, according to a statement that Great Hearts posted online Tuesday afternoon.
"Our sincerest condolences go out to the Falbe family for their tragic loss," the statement said. "Grief counselors will be available when school returns Monday."
The Gila County Sheriff's Office received a call about 9:48 p.m. Monday from the Scottsdale Police Department saying a plane flying from Scottsdale to Telluride was reported overdue and never made it to Colorado, according to Sarah White, chief administrative officer for the Sheriff's Office.
Carrie Falbe's father, who called Scottsdale police at about 9:30 p.m., said he was deeply concerned because the family had taken the trip in years past and always texted or called him when they got in safe, the police report said. He said he texted and called all the family members and heard nothing, police reported.
Carrie's father said he was unsure whether they flew the plane or took a car. But the daughters' mother later confirmed they took the plane, saying that she received a Snapchat from one of her daughters when they were taking off, according to the police report.
Police reached out to a variety of airports and learned that the plane had not landed at those places, the police report said.
Deputies, with help from the Arizona Department of Public Safety's Ranger helicopter and the Air Force Civil Air Patrol, pinged a cellphone and located the plane northwest of Washington Park, an area about 14 miles north of Payson, White said.
A helicopter search began about 2 a.m., and the plane was found about 4:50 a.m. in an area with dense trees and hills, police reported. Initially, three members of the family were found dead, and deputies later located the fourth body, White said.
The plane crashed under unknown circumstances, according to Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
A review of radar information later showed that the plane ascended in Scottsdale and then descended quickly in the Payson area near where the phone was pinged, police reported.
Gregor said it didn't appear that Falbe had submitted a flight plan to the FAA before taking off Monday.
The crash is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.