“Instead of, you know, retiring and doing nothing, he did it literally until the day he died,” Joie Vitosky’s daughter said
The pilot killed when Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil‘s private plane slammed into another parked jet in Arizona has been identified, authorities said.
Joie Vitosky, 78, was the pilot onboard Neil’s jet at the time of the incident. according to the Arizona Republic and The New York Times.
The Learjet 35A was arriving at the Scottsdale Airport from Texas at 2:39 p.m. local time on Monday, Feb. 10, when it “veered off the runway and struck a parked Gulfstream 200,” the city of Scottsdale said in a release. The crash also left several others injured, including the singer’s girlfriend and her friend, NBC affiliate KPNX and Fox News reported.
Authorities have said that Neil’s plane experienced problems with its landing gear at the airport.
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One person, now known to be Vitosky, was pronounced dead at the scene. “Three others sustained injuries and were transported to Valley hospitals for treatment. Another individual refused medical treatment,” officials said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
Jana Schertzer, Vitosky’s daughter, told the Republic that her father had been flying for 60 years, beginning when he was with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Schertzer said her dad, who had three kids and two grandchildren, had “perfect” vision and was a very capable pilot.
“I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that the reason those other passengers are alive — it’s because of how he handled it yesterday,” she told the paper.
Vitosky became a certified flight engineer in 1978 and a pilot in 2019, according to FAA records.
Vitosky was originally from Okemah, Okla., his ex-wife Ann Vitosky told the Associated Press. She said her ex-husband joined the Marine Corps so he could fly, and flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969.
More than a decade later, Vitosky began flying Learjets, like the one involved in the fatal crash. “His passion was flying,” his ex-wife said.
“Instead of, you know, retiring and doing nothing, he did it literally until the day he died,” Schertzer told the Republic.
Meanwhile, Neil was not on the plane when the collision occurred, according to a statement shared on the band’s social media.
Jet Pros, the company that owns the other plane that was hit, said in a statement that one crew member was aboard at the time of the collision.
He was “treated and released” and the company is “cooperating fully” with authorities.
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“We are saddened to hear about the lives lost and injured …. Our condolences go out to the family members of those affected by this terrible accident,” the company said.
Dramatic video of the crash shows the plane speeding down the runway before slamming into the second aircraft.
“Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved,” Worrick Robinson, IV, Neil’s representative, said in the statement shared on social media.
