Coordinated Joint Statement
Ellsworth family and Leavitt Group
23 August 2008
At approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday, 22 August, a King Air 100, with ten aboard crashed shortly after take-off in Moab, Utah. The plane was in route to Cedar City, Utah. All on board died in the crash.
Nine of the victims were associates of Southwest Skin & Cancer. They had traveled to Moab early that day to provide cancer screening, cancer treatment, and other medical services to citizens in Moab. Southwest Skin & Cancer provided similar services to nine communities in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
Those on board from Southwest Skin and Cancer were:
Dr. Lansing Ellsworth
Dallin Ellsworth
David Goddard, PA
Cecilee Goddard
Valerie Imlay
Mandy Johnson
Keith Shumway
Marcie Tillery
Camie Vigil
The pilot was David White, an employee of Leavitt Group Wings. David was a highly experienced and credentialed pilot who had flown this plane hundreds of hours, and this particular route many other times on this same mission.
A statement by the Ellsworth Family, delivered 23 August 2008 is outlined below.
Ellsworth Family Statement
It is with disbelief that we struggle to comprehend the events of yesterday. Our family has lost two dear members, each a husband and father. We appreciate the outpouring of love we’ve received from neighbors, family, and friends. Your prayers and faith are sustaining us. Thank you!!! Our belief in the truth that families can be together forever lightens this heavy load of sorrow. We will be reunited with Lansing and Dallin, of this we’re sure.
We have learned that the pilot was a skilled professional, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Surely he did all he could to bring his passengers safely back to Cedar.
Our hearts go out to the other six families who are mourning losses as well; each of them is in OUR prayers. These dedicated staff members gracefully accompanied Lansing as he traveled to rural towns outside of Iron County. They provided much needed dermatology care to patients who might otherwise gone without. The loss of these medical providers will be felt far and wide. Their service will not soon be forgotten.
The plane was a King Air 100. It was owned by Leavitt Group Wings, a subsidiary of the Leavitt Group. The plane and pilot regularly served Southwest Skin and Cancer under a Time Sharing Agreement which enabled Dr. Ellsworth and his associates to serve these rural communities.
The Leavitt Group’s Statement, by Dane Leavitt, the company’s CEO, is provided below:
Leavitt Group Statement
We mourn the loss of dear friends and associates. Our hearts are broken by this tragedy. We hold with gratitude our faith in God, and along with the hundreds touched by this accident, seek from Him strength, comfort and perspective.
We express our deepest sympathies to all affected, and will continue to do all we can to assist.
We appreciate the able service of law enforcement, medical personnel, the National Transportation Safety Board, clergy, friends, neighbors and family.
Condolences to the families can made at http://www.cedarcondolences.blogspot.com/.
