Elementary School Teacher Among Victims of Airplane Crash Near Duluth International Airport
Tragedy struck the Northland over the weekend when a small plane crashed into a Hermantown home, taking the lives of all three people on board. There were two people inside the the home at the time of the crash, neither sustaining injuries.
On Monday, multiple sources have identified the victims of the crash, which took place about a mile south of the Duluth International Airport. They include two Burnsville, Minnesota men and a St. Paul woman who taught school in Burnsville. The trio were reportedly traveling in the Duluth area for a wedding.
Sun This Week, a news source covering the Burnsville area, is reporting Alyssa Schmidt, 32, and her brother, Matthew Schmidt, 31, were passengers in the Cessna 172 that went down just before midnight on October 1, according to Hermantown police. Also killed was Tyler Fretland, 32, who was the airplane’s certified pilot.
Hermantown police confirmed the Duluth International Airport control tower reported the plane left radar one to 1.5 miles south of the airport, at which point they a crash was feared and they were notified.
The plane hit the second floor of the Arrowhead Road home before coming to rest in the backyard.
Sun This Week reports Alyssa Schmidt taught second grade at Echo Park Elementary School of Leadership, Engineering and Technology in Burnsville. She had worked in Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan District 196 since October 2014. Schmidt taught kindergarten before moving to third grade in 2020 and second grade this year.
As more information on all the victims becomes known, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently investigating the crash.