FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — The pilot who died when a private plane collided with a business jet at the Scottsdale Airport in Arizona has been identified as 78-year-old Joie Vitosky, according to the Scottsdale Police Department.
Vitosky was certified as a flight engineer since 1978 and a pilot since 2019, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records.
Originally from Okemah, Okla., Vitosky joined the Marine Corps in his early twenties because he wanted to fly, his ex-wife Ann Vitosky told The Associated Press. He flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969, she said. After spending over a decade with the Marines, he started flying Learjets.
Vitosky was killed after the jet he was piloting veered off the runway and collided with another parked plane after an attempt to land on Monday at about 2:45 p.m. local time. Kelli Kuester, a coordinator at airport, suspected that the landing gear of the jet had failed before it ran off the runway.
The plane was carrying four people: two pilots and two passengers. The three other people on the jet were said to be injured. Kuester said two of them were taken to area trauma centers and one was in stable condition at a separate hospital.
A crew member aboard the parked plane was not seriously injured, the plane’s owners confirmed to the AP.
One of the jets involved in the accident — the Learjet that collided with the plane on the ground — was owned by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil.
“The pilot was tragically killed; the co-pilot and other passengers were taken to local hospitals,” the band wrote in a statement shared to Instagram. “Vince was not on the plane. Vince’s girlfriend and her friend suffered injuries, albeit not life threatening.”
A statement from Neil’s lawyer on Monday confirmed that the jet was attempting to land at the Scottsdale Airport when it veered from the runway.
“Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today,” it reads.
Ann Vitosky said she believed her ex-husband had been flying for Neil for “a few” years, and that he died doing what he loved, and would probably be happy to go the way he did.
“His passion was flying,” she added.
The two share three children and four grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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