Photo: Andrea Cooper/North Dakota Legislative Council
North Dakota State Senator Doug Larsen, his wife, and two sons were killed in a plane crash on Sunday (October 1). The Grand County Sheriff's Department said that Larsen and his family were visiting and returning home after visiting family in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Their single-engine Piper PA-23 plane crashed shortly after refueling about 15 miles north of Moab, Utah. The pilot of the aircraft was also killed in the crash.
"First Lady Kathryn, Lt. Gov. Miller, and I are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife, Amy, and their two young sons. As a legislator, he was a tenacious advocate for individual rights and the freedoms he defended through his military service," North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said in a statement.
"We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to his family and friends and join his legislative colleagues, National Guard brothers and sisters, and the Mandan community in mourning the tragic passing of Sen. Larsen and his family."
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched an investigator to the scene of the crash. They will "begin to document the scene, examine the aircraft, request any air traffic communications, radar data, weather reports and try to contact any witnesses. Also, the investigator will request maintenance records of the aircraft, and medical records and flight history of the pilot."