June 3, 2014, Oshkosh, WI
It is with heavy hearts that we report the loss of two members of our Sonex family. Sonex Aircraft CEO Jeremy Monnett and Sonex assembly mechanic Mike Clark died yesterday in an accident involving Sonex Sport Acro N123SX at the East end of Wittman Regional Airport¹s runway 9, which occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd at approximately 3:30pm. The cause of the accident remains unknown pending investigation by the FAA, NTSB and Sonex Aircraft.
Sonex Aircraft founder John Monnett made a statement to staff this morning that Sonex Aircraft, LLC will continue to operate despite the holes left by Jeremy and Mike¹s absence. It would unquestionably be Jeremy Monnett¹s wish that the Sonex company and the worldwide community of Sonex and AeroConversions customers carry-on.
Sonex Sport Acro N123SX first flew in 2007, and has most-recently been fitted with the 100 hp AeroVee Turbo. The engine had accumulated approximately 25 hours of operation in the Sonex Aircraft test cell as part of the AeroVee Turbo development program, and approximately 50 flight hours on N123SX after moving from the test cell to the Sport Acro airframe in the spring of 2014. The engine and airframe¹s performance has been flawless in all respects, including recent long cross country flights to Florida for the Sebring and Sun Œn Fun conventions, making its return trip to Oshkosh after Sun Œn Fun 2015. Sonex Aircraft is hopeful the investigation of Tuesday¹s accident will reveal conclusive findings regarding the cause, however, there are no immediate conclusions that can be drawn.
The Monnett family and leadership of Sonex Aircraft, LLC sincerely thank the dedicated Sonex staff, community of customers, the aviation community at-large, and the Oshkosh community for all of the support and condolences offered over the past 24 hours.
