
SALEM, Ore. – The Marion County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot who died in a plane crash this week.
Investigators say Norman Newton, 40, of Salem, was the only person killed in the crash.
Norman was flying his Kitfox Model fixed-wing airplane when for unknown reasons it crashed. The sheriff’s office says he was killed instantly.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
After talking with first responders, investigators believe Newton crashed Sunday. Another pilot flying overhead Monday spotted the downed plane in a stand of trees not far from Blue Skies Farm Airport, a small, grass landing strip off Lardon Road NE.
Reports of an aircraft emergency came in just before 4 p.m. Monday.
The NTSB says an investigator will look for the plane's "black-box" - if it is equipped with one - to determine what led up to the crash.
According to the manufacturer, the majority of its planes are built by their owners. Kitfox says its planes have an outstanding safety record.
The Federal Aviation Administration says Newton was learning to fly. Records show he was issued a student pilot license in March 2018.
"He was just started getting his license," Victoria Richards told KATU. "He was just practicing and he had put in so many hours out there to fly, so he could take other people."
Pilots with student licenses are not allowed to fly with anyone else on board, with the exceptions of an instructor.
"That was one of his things," Richards said, "he really wanted to take his kids."
Newton was a father of two young boys. He owns The Night Deposit Whiskey Library in Downtown Salem, among other businesses.
Richards worked at his bar. She got to know him well over the past few years.
"He was funny," she said. "He was hard-headed. Whatever he said, went. He stuck with his word."
According to the FAA, there were 209 fatal General Aviation crashes in 2017, leading to 347 deaths. The leading causes of fatal crashes are loss of control inflight, flying into terrain or power failure.
"He will never be forgotten," Richards said. "It’s shocking that he is gone."
A detective will remain on the scene with federal investigators as a liaison.
The NTSB expects to release its preliminary findings within 7 to 10 days of the crash.