5 Die on Dallas-Bound Flight

OKLAHOMA CITY — A small aircraft plummeted into a Tulsa park and burst into flames Saturday, killing all five people on board, investigators said.

The six-passenger plane was on its way to Dallas when it crashed after hitting a communications tower guy wire amid heavy fog near a baseball field, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said.

"The wings came off. The engine came off," Brown said. "When it hit, it rolled. It did catch fire. It rolled at least a couple of times, ejecting the occupants."

Brown said the victims were Dr. Stephen Lester, 48, the pilot; his wife, Dana, 48; daughters Laura, 16, and Christina, 13; and Dr. Ken Veteto, 50. All were from Tulsa. No one on the ground was injured.

The pilot’s uncle, Mike Lester, said the couple had two other children who weren’t on the plane.

"It’s really difficult," Lester said, his voice shaking, during a phone interview.

He said the family was traveling to Dallas to watch the University of Oklahoma kick off its football season against Brigham Young University at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

"They were both avid OU fans," he said.

The Piper PA-32 took off for Dallas Love Field from Jones Riverside Airport in Tulsa at 10:37 a.m. It crashed about 30 minutes later at Chandler Park, a recreation area with athletic fields and picnic facilities.

The tower in the park was 150 to 200 feet tall, Brown said.

"There was a low cloud ceiling that obscured the communications tower," he said. "It’s apparent that the pilot did not see this tower."

FAA records indicate the aircraft was manufactured in 1976 and registered to Stephen Lester of Tulsa.

Lester, an anesthesiologist, was a devoted father who was involved in all aspects of his children’s lives, his uncle said.

"They took family vacations several times a year," Mike Lester said.

The doctor was heavily involved in his church and recently returned from a mission trip to Africa. He bought the aircraft so he could fly across the country to give seminars on pain medication to other doctors, Mike Lester said.

Veteto specialized in internal medicine at the Warren Clinic in Tulsa, according to the clinic’s Web site.

A listing for his home phone number couldn’t be found Saturday, and his clinic’s office was closed for the weekend.