Oklahoma Family Killed In Arkansas Plane Crash

Four Oklahomans were killed in a small plane crash in Arkansas.

“In a single moment we lost four members of our family that will never be replaced,” said family spokesperson Amanda Schulz.

According to investigators, the Checotah family was in route to South Carolina Friday for Labor Day weekend. According to loved ones, the family opted to fly their own plane instead of driving because of COVID-19 concerns. Then, less than 30 minutes into the flight they encountered bad weather.

With Kevin Herron in the cockpit, his wife Holly, his son Gavin, 7, and his father P.D. on board the family looked forward to a long weekend.

“They decided Kevin would fly them to see extended family for the holiday weekend,” said Schulz.              

Family members said Kevin and his wife enjoyed flying.

“They did love it, they enjoyed it, they enjoyed getting in the air every opportunity they got, it was something Kevin thoroughly enjoyed doing,” said Schulz. 

Friday, shortly after takeoff flight tracker showed the plane encountered storms, was rerouted and then disappeared. 

“It was a very hard impact and debris scattered about 110-150 yards,” said an Arkansas emergency responder.     

The wreckage was discovered the following morning, the plane had crashed into a thicket of trees.

“The waves of shock and grief are beyond anything I can comprehend,” said Schulz. 

In the wake of their deaths the tight knit community of Checotah has rallied around Paula--- her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson taken in an instant.

“In a time when you think people can’t come together people do, and I think this is a reminder that we are community and love each other at the end of the day,” said Schulz.

The family asked for privacy and that the lives lost not be forgotten.

“We want the memories of the lives they lived to outlast the tragedy of their death,” said Schulz.

The young family did not have life insurance, a GoFundMe has been setup to help with funeral expenses.

Family members issued the following statement:

Herron and Ward Family Statement September 7, 2020

As is already known, our family experienced an unimaginable tragedy Friday September 5th. In a single moment, we lost four members of our families that will never be able to replaced.  

Kevin and Holly both graduated from Checotah High School. Upon graduation, Kevin enlisted in the Marines and served his country for four years of active duty, through three deployments abroad. Upon his honorable discharge from the Marines, Kevin came back home to Checotah to make his home, start his family and build a business with his wife Holly. Holly graduated from Conners State College and was an active student at Northeastern State University, and just awaiting final exam results for her teaching degree, while working at Walmart in Checotah. Holly and Gavin enjoyed their time with horses, and were working on training a new horse for Holly so Gavin could ride horses with his mom. Gavin, their son, was 7 years old and was attending Marshall Elementary School in Checotah. He loved Legos and Batman, and being with family.  

Paul, known to his community as PD, was anywhere and everywhere. He served as assistant fire chief at the FAIC Volunteer Fire Department until 2017. He was known for his giving and serving spirit within their small community.While Checotah wasn’t his native home, his family made it their home for over 20 years.   

They all enjoyed spending time together in bowling leagues at Fast Lanes in Checotah and some of their fondest memories together are there. They were all an outdoors loving group. They loved to camp, ride ATVs, and fish.  They all lived life to the fullest.  

The families are beyond grateful for the outpouring of love, support and prayers. They will never be able to say thank you to each and every one of you individually, but know we appreciate it. We want to thank some agencies specifically for their incredible work and continued support during our unimaginable grief. Crawford County Sheriff Ron Brown, Captain Patty Stroud of the Crawford County Sheriff’s office, Crawford County Coroner Pam Wells, Crawford County Emergency Manager Brad Thomas, Arkansas State Forestry, FAA, NTSB, all of the staff in those agencies, as well as all the volunteer fire departments and search volunteers.

In closing, we want everyone to know that PD, Kevin, Holly as well as Gavin all lived life to the fullest. They loved their families, they loved their work, and enjoyed everything life had to offer. We want the memories of the life they lived to outlast the tragedy of their death.