Joie Vitosky, 78, was the pilot onboard Neil’s jet at the time of the incident. according to the\u00a0Arizona Republic<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The Learjet 35A was arriving at the Scottsdale Airport from Texas at 2:39 p.m. local time on Monday, Feb. 10, when it \u201cveered off the runway and struck a parked Gulfstream 200,\u201d\u00a0the city of Scottsdale said in a release<\/a>. The crash also left several others injured, including the singer’s girlfriend and her friend,\u00a0NBC affiliate KPNX<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Fox News<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n Authorities have said that Neil’s plane experienced problems with its landing gear at the airport.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.<\/p>\n Jana Schertzer, Vitosky’s daughter, told the\u00a0Republic\u00a0<\/em>that her father had been flying for 60 years, beginning when he was with the U.S. Marine Corps.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption> Schertzer said her dad, who had three kids and two grandchildren, had \u201cperfect\u201d vision and was a very capable pilot.<\/p>\n “I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that the reason those other passengers are alive \u2014 it’s because of how he handled it yesterday,” she told the paper.<\/p>\n Vitosky became a certified flight engineer in 1978 and a pilot in 2019, according to\u00a0FAA records<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vitosky was originally from Okemah, Okla., his ex-wife Ann Vitosky told the\u00a0Associated Press<\/a>. She said her ex-husband joined the Marine Corps so he could fly, and flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969.<\/p>\n More than a decade later, Vitosky began flying Learjets, like the one involved in the fatal crash. \u201cHis passion was flying,\u201d his ex-wife said.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of, you know, retiring and doing nothing, he did it literally until the day he died,” Schertzer told the\u00a0Republic<\/em>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Neil was not on the plane when the collision occurred, according to a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0shared on the band\u2019s social media.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/y0URsqqtXozftYg93f_qidUynFw=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/arizona-plane-crash-2-021225-d88ef8236c2f457fbaabdfe29235b686.jpg\")
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