Mötley Crüe speak out after frontman Vince Neil’s private jet crashes and kills pilot
Mötley Crüe and Vince Neil have offered their 'thoughts and prayers' after a private jet registered to the frontman crashed and killed a pilot.
Yesterday afternoon (February 10), a private plane owned by Neil crashed into another plane at Scottsdale Airport, Arizona as it was arriving from Austin, Texas.
Neil was not on board, however, his girlfriend, Rain Andreani and her friend are reported as having been involved in the collision, alongside a co-pilot and pilot - with the pilot reported as having passed away.
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Mötley Crüe took to social media to release a statement on the incident, as per FOX 10 Phoenix.
In a since-deleted post, the group confirmed 'a private plane owned by Vince Neil was involved in a crash near Scottsdale, AZ' and 'the pilot was tragically killed' with 'the co-pilot and other passengers were taken to local hospitals'.
"Vince was not on the plane. Vince‘s girlfriend and her friend suffered injuries, albeit not life-threatening," the statement continued. "While details are still emerging, our hearts go out to the families about the pilot who lost his life in the passengers who suffered injuries."
It resolved: "Mötley Crüe will announce a way to help support the family of the deceased pilot -stand by for an announcement very soon."
And the group has since shared a statement from Neil's representative too.
The statement reads: "At 2:39 p.m. local time, a Learjet aircraft Model 35A owned by Vince Neil was attempting to land at the Scottsdale Airport. For reasons unknown at this time, the plane veered from the runway causing it to collide with another parked plane.
"On board Mr. Neil's plane were two pilots and two passengers. Mr. Neil was not on the plane. More specific details regarding the collision are not available as this is a rapidly evolving situation and there is an ongoing investigation.
"Mr. Neil's thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today."
The incident remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which stated 'a Learjet 35A veered off the runway after landing and crashed into a Gulfstream 200 business jet on the ramp at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona' and noted it was 'temporarily pausing flights into the airport' as a result.
The Scottsdale airport confirmed at the time an 'accident' had occurred 'upon arrival to runway 21'.
"Fire Department is on scene assessing the situation. Scottsdale Airports runway is currently closed," it said.
Airport public information office Kelli Kuester added: "A Learjet aircraft on its arrival from Austin veered off the runway and collided with another jet, a Gulfstream 200 aircraft, that was parked. It appears that the left main gear failed upon landing, resulting in the accident."
Scottsdale Fire Department Captain Dave Folio said: "We had five patients we treated. One was a fatality, we had two immediate that were transported to local trauma centers, we had one delayed patient and one patient that refused treatment."
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Poppy Bilderbeck