Fiery Plane Crash in West Texas Kills 2, Injures 1

A business jet crashed into an alleyway in Odessa, Texas on Aug. 20, killing two people on board and injuring a woman who was rescued from a mobile home that caught fire.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) released a statement naming male pilot Joseph Vincent Summa, 48, from Bellaire, Texas and female passenger Joleen Cavaretta Weatherly, 49, of Orange, Texas dead at the scene.
Summa and Weatherly were colleagues at Pasadena-based TechCorr, an inspection service company of which Summa was the CEO, president, and founder. The company shared a post on LinkedIn, listing Weatherly as the senior administrative manager and expressed sadness and condolences to the victims’ families and friends.
The DPS report says the plane—a 1991 Cessna Citation II 550—left Schlemeyer Airport flying in clear weather conditions. It flew southbound at a low altitude when it hit a power line. The crash occurred around 7 a.m., causing multiple buildings, trailer houses, and vehicles to catch fire, along with breakfast restaurant Dewey’s.
“Witnesses have said that they saw the plane struggling to get altitude, clipped the power lines … and ultimately crashed in the alley way,” said Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis in a news conference.
“It’s obvious the pilot attempted to avoid the houses,” the sheriff said.
A witness working adjacent to the crash said he saw the plane struggling to gain altitude and felt the heat from the explosion, according to the sheriff.
“He observed the plane struggling to gain altitude, he noticed it, and then he said on impact—the explosion—they felt the heat wave over there at the job site. And then there was another subsequent explosion,” said Griffis.
Damage from the crash was widespread, according to the fire chief: “We’ve got damage to power lines … we’ve got damage to Dewey’s, we’ve got damage to a few buildings, trees that were topped off, we’ve got damage to vehicles, fences, property … it’s an entire block.”
Griffis thanked the OFR for handling the fires quickly and said he’s sending prayers to those affected by the crash.
“I do want to give kudos to OFR and all their staff. They were out here on scene, they had this thing under control pretty quick.” He continued, “We don’t want this to happen to anybody, anytime, anywhere, and we sure don’t like seeing it in our neighborhood, but it’s here we’re gonna do the best to our ability and take care of it and just pray for those affected.”
“It’s a sad day in Odessa,” Griffis said.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration will continue investigations to find the reasoning behind the crash. NTSB investigators were at the site Wednesday to begin their investigation.