6 killed after small plane crashes on famed golf course in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Chris McCrory and BrieAnna J Frank | The Arizona Republic

Show Caption Hide Caption Small plane crashes onto Arizona golf course A small plane crashed and burst into flames on a suburban Phoenix golf course. The Piper PA-24 Comanche went down in Scottsdale on Monday night. There is no immediate word on what happened to anyone on board. (April 10)

PHOENIX — A small airplane crashed Monday night on the TPC Scottsdale Champions Course and police confirmed six people were killed.

Scottsdale police and fire crews responded around 9 p.m. to numerous reports of an aircraft down near Bell Road and 82nd Street, just north of Scottsdale Airport.

Scottsdale police confirmed the aircraft crashed on the Champions golf course.

Video and photographs taken shortly after the crash showed wreckage of a burning aircraft.

The aircraft was a Piper PA24, which crashed onto the golf course and caught fire after takeoff from Scottsdale Airport, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

Initial information from the scene indicated five people were on board, he said. Further information on the occupants was unavailable.

Officer Kevin Watts, a Scottsdale police spokesman, said none of the six people on board survived the crash.

“We do know the flight originated at Scottsdale Airport and it appears it went down shortly after takeoff,’’ Watts said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were headed to the crash site Monday night to begin investigating, Watts said.

Kenitzer said the FAA would assist in the investigation.

Versace King said he was helping his father load a truck near the airport and noticed a small, single-engine airplane take off. A few moments later, King heard the plane stall, then recalled a loud noise and subsequent explosion.

“I was like, ‘What the heck?’ So I drove over to the golf course and I saw the plane was engulfed in flames,” King said.

King got about 100 yards and began recording video of the fiery crash. He said emergency crews were on the scene several minutes later. He added the weather was "perfect'' at the time.

The Champions course is one of two golf courses at the TPC Scottsdale. It is just east of the TPC Stadium Course, where the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open is held.

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