Jess Battison
Mötley Crüe’s frontman, Vince Neil, has spoken out after his private jet crashed into another plane, leaving the pilot dead.
The jet was landing at the Scottsdale Airport in Arizona when it veered off the runway yesterday (10 February). It then collided with a parked Gulfstream 200 jet, according to Kelli Kuester, aviation planning and outreach coordinator at the airport.
While the lead singer was not on board, there were two pilots and two passengers on his plane and one person was in the parked aircraft.
A since-deleted post on X from the band confirmed that the pilot of Neil’s jet was killed in the crash and ‘the co-pilot and other passengers were taken to local hospitals’.
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The group, also made up of Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and John 5, reportedly added that Neil’s girlfriend, Rain Anderani, and her friend suffered injuries, ‘albeit not life-threatening’.
“Mötley Crüe will announce a way to help support the family of the deceased pilot -stand by for an announcement very soon,” they said.
Kuester said it appeared that the primary landing gear of the arriving jet failed, allegedly resulting in the collision.
Neil’s representative, Worrick Robinson IV, has since shared the following statement, confirming that a Learjet aircraft Model 35A had been attempting to land.
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“For reasons unknown at this time, the plane veered off from the runway causing it to collide with another parked plane,” it reads.
“On board Mr Neil’s plane were two pilots and two passengers. Mr Neil was not on the plane. More specific details regarding this collision are not available as this is a rapidly evolving situation and there is an ongoing investigation.”
Robinson added that the singer’s ‘thoughts and prayers’ go out to all those involved ‘and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today’.
Scottsdale Fire Department Captain, Dave Folio said that two people injured in the collision were taken to trauma centres and one was in stable condition at a hospital.
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He added they were working to recover the body of the pilot killed in the crash.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody involved in this,” Folio said.
The runway at Scottsdale Airport has now been closed and will remain closed ‘for the foreseeable future’, according to Kuester.
The incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.