Star Tribune
NTSB reveals cause of fatal plane crash that crushed Duluth-area house
HERMANTOWN, MINN. – The pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed into a house in Hermantown in 2022 — killing the three people on board but not the homeowners — had expressed before the flight that he was “not confident about his instrument flying abilities,” according to the final report from the NTSB.
The plane, flown by Tyler Fretland, 32, of Burnsville left Duluth International Airport en route to South St. Paul late on Oct. 1, 2022, following a wedding here. Four minutes later, the plane crashed into electrical wires, then the two-story brick home on Arrowhead Road. Jason and Crystal Hoffman, who were asleep at the time of impact, escaped with just scrapes, but the high school sweethearts’ dream home was destroyed.
It’s likely that Fretland experienced “spatial disorientation” — an aviation term referring to an inability to sense positioning in context to the earth, according a report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. There was no evidence of mechanical failure before the crash.
The probable cause: “The pilot’s loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation during initial climb in dark night and low instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a descent into terrain,” according to the report. “Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue due to a long day of flying and personal activities.”
Passengers Alyssa Schmidt, 32, of St. Paul, and Matthew Schmidt, 31, of Burnsville, who were siblings, died alongside Fretland in the crash. She was a second-grade teacher at Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering and Technology in Burnsville. She was remembered as a bubbly, free spirit. Matthew Schmidt was also part of the flying community, according to his obituary, which said he had “discovered what made him feel alive.” Fretland had been interested in flying since he was a kid and dreamed of working for Delta Air Lines. He had a commercial pilot certificate and flight instructor certificate with 645.9 hours of flight experience.
It was a “night instrument flight rules” trip, meaning the pilot was dependent on the instruments in the cockpit rather than external visual cues. The clouds were low to the ground, visibility was reduced and it was misting lightly. The pilot ascended to a height where ground lights would have disappeared, according to the report.
The day before the accident, the pilot and a student flew on a night cross-country flight. Fretland reportedly told the student that he was flying to a wedding the following morning and was nervous because he wasn’t confident in his instrument flying abilities. He had 7.9 hours of instrument flight experience, .3 hours in the past 15 months.
According to the report, the plane briefly leveled at 2,800 feet before it began its rapid descent. Fretland had one more moment of contact with air traffic control, then did not respond to further communications. The plane likely hit the Hoffman’s house at a 40-degree left bank.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt was “disappointed” and visibly frustrated Tuesday after the County Board delayed a vote on her plan to reduce the number of prisoners in the jail to comply with a state order.
Witt asked county commissioners Tuesday to approve up to $8 million for agreements with 21 counties to temporarily house inmates from the state’s “busiest jail.” The “joint powers agreements” would allow Witt to send inmates to other counties in the case of emergencies, safety concerns and overcrowding.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections ordered Witt to reduce the jail population from about 850 to 600 by Dec. 5, citing violations of staffing levels and regular well-being checks of prisoners. There were 662 inmates in the jail Tuesday evening and 182 in other facilities.
Commissioners were surprised by Witt’s request for $8 million that the sheriff concedes is not in her budget. They also questioned why it hadn’t been sent to them sooner so it could be thoroughly reviewed.
“We just got this today,” said Board Chair Irene Fernando. “We just haven’t had the opportunity to review it with the diligence that $8 million merits.”
Instead, commissioners called a special meeting for Dec. 3 and voted 5-2 to ask staff to come up with other options, including expanding the temporary capacity at the adult corrections facility in Plymouth. They also gave County Administrator David Hough the OK to negotiate deals with three to five nearby counties at a lower cost.
Several commissioners also took issue with Witt’s proposal to possibly send inmates to far away counties to meet the new state capacity rules. Witt has inmate housing deals with five counties and hopes to add 16 more.
Kyle Steven Williams was convicted Tuesday in the 2021 murder of Kelly Jo Marie Kocurek, a 36-year-old mother of two, who was found bloodied and bruised in a Hastings hotel.
Following a five-day trial, a Dakota County jury convicted Williams, 35, of Red Wing, of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse, premeditated first-degree murder, intentional second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
A conviction of premeditated first-degree murder comes with a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The jury deliberated for less than a day before reaching a verdict, according to a news release from the Dakota County Attorney’s Office.
“Today justice was rightly served as Mr. Williams will now be held accountable for his continued acts of domestic abuse that culminated in the violent murder of Kelly,” Dakota County Attorney Kathryn Keena said in a statement. “While no outcome can ever fully heal the wounds of this heartbreaking incident, I hope today’s verdict brings some peace and comfort to Kelly’s family and loved ones.”
On May 18, 2021, Kocurek was found unresponsive by Hastings police officers in a room of a local hotel. She had marks around her neck and a number of cords were lying next to her. Her face was bruised. She was hospitalized but died from her injuries five days later.
Williams told police that Kocurek tried to strangle herself and he tried to cut the cords from around her neck, according to the attorney’s office. But the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Kocurek was strangled in a homicide and had also suffered traumatic injuries to her head.
A man on a scooter has grabbed or tried to grab at least five females on a St. Louis Park trail over a span of several weeks this fall, officials said Tuesday.
Reports to police say the incidents tied to a suspect in his late teens or early 20s have occurred on the North Cedar Lake Regional Trail in St. Louis Park and Minneapolis between Oct. 9 and Nov. 12.
“At least five females have reported incidents where the suspect has approached on an electric scooter and either attempted to or successfully grabbed them over their clothing,” a statement from police read.
Incidents have taken place between the trail’s Dakota Park and Cedar Lake areas, police said.
The physical description offered by police was too broad to help the public possibly identify the suspect.
Anyone who has also been similarly targeted or has information about a possible suspect is urged to call the police tip line at 952-924-2165, or email info@stlouisparkmn.gov and include your contact information.
