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Spencer Geerlings, a first officer, was identified as one of the three victims who went missing on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in a crash off the Southern Californian coast. They were aboard a company-owned Learjet that was partaking in a U.S. Navy training exercise near San Clemente Island.
On Friday, May 13, Georgia-based Phoenix Air Group revealed the name of its three employees involved in the unfortunate crash, stating:
"The entire Phoenix Air Family grieves over this loss of our friends and fellow employees."
In addition to first officer Spencer Geerlings who hails from Newnan, Georgia, the other crew members were identified as Captian Eric Tatman from Marietta, Georgia, and system specialist Shane Garner, of Taylorsville, Georgia.
The aviation company did not release any further details about the three men.
Coast Guard and other authorities scoured around 334 square miles for Spencer Geerlings and his peers
On Wednesday morning, Phoenix Air Group announced two of its aircraft would participating in a U.S. Navy training exercise. They explained that both planes were "flying in a military-restricted area as part of a carefully planned series of flight profiles supporting U.S. Navy fleet preparedness."
According to CBS News, the plane took off from Point Mugu at the Naval Base in Ventura County, and at around 7:40 am, a crash was reported a mile southwest of San Clemente Island. The island is owned by the U.S. Navy and makes the southernmost of the Channel Islands.
According to the Coast Guard, personnel from San Clement reported that Spencer Geerlings and others "didn’t make it back to the runway" after an emergency was reported on Phoenix Air's Learjet 36A.
In an effort to locate the three men, the Coast Guard teamed up with the Navy, Air Force, and Customs and Border Protection squads and searched the crash site for more than a day to no avail. After a total of 334 square miles, the probe was suspended.
On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it was actively investigating the Learjet 36A crash. However, the names of the personnel involved in the plane crash or their connection with the U.S. Navy were not immediately released.
Phoenix Air Group has been an air contractor with the U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense divisions for over two decades and has been regularly performing readiness training with them for as long.
The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and U.S. Department of Defense continue to investigate the crash.
