Bucky owned an auto detail business and was a nice guy. He hand pinstriped cars with beautiful designs. He is missed.
He was killed in an airplane crash near Santa Fe, New Mexico along with 6 other people.
N.M. plane crash kills 7 from Houston area
Houston Chronicle-SEPTEMBER 8, 1993
The bodies of seven Houston-area residents, who had been on their way to a vacation in Santa Fe, N.M., were found Tuesday in the charred wreckage of a private Learjet on a rural New Mexico mesa.
The dead were attorney Gary Becker, 40; his wife, Mary Becker, 40, an entrepreneur; businessman Bucky Ahrens, in his late 20s; Kym Coleman, 26, a model; co-pilot Al Sumrall; his wife, Lori Sumrall; and pilot Morty Rich.
The jet was en route Sunday from Houston's Hobby Airport to Santa Fe when radar contact was lost about 5:10 p.m. Santa Fe time, New Mexico State Police Major Frank Taylor said. The plane was scheduled to return to Houston on Monday.
"When these people never arrived, the family members started making inquiries," Taylor said.
The relatives notified state police at noon Tuesday, and an aerial search was launched, Taylor said. A state police helicopter found the wreckage at 3:19 p.m. on Rowe Mesa, a 7,500-foot-high plateau about 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe.
The plane was found about four miles from the last place its radar emitted a signal to the nearest flight recording computer tape. "It (Rowe Mesa) is remote, but roads give access to the area, though it's pretty dense," Taylor said.
Investigators were on the scene picking through the rubble, but the cause of the crash had not been determined, Taylor said. The bodies were to be sent to the Albuquerque medical examiner's office.
The last radar-tracking contact showed the plane at 8,700 feet, too low for its position relative to the Santa Fe airport, and descending faster than normal, Taylor said.
"He was dropping pretty fast," Taylor said. "I don't know if there was a problem. I don't know what the pilot was thinking or what was going on there. We don't know what happened after that."
The pilot never radioed the Santa Fe airport for landing, Taylor said.
He said the plane did not explode but hit a tree line where the wings were ripped off, then crashed into a sloping side of the mesa, leaving a 100-yard path of debris.
"When it hit the tree line, it broke the wings apart and everything else," Taylor said.
Only one body was found in the plane, he said. The others were some distance away.
Funeral arrangements for the Beckers are pending with Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering.
Arrangements for the other five could not be confirmed Tuesday.
A family friend of the Beckers said the group decided to go to New Mexico on a lark Sunday and planned to return Monday.
Gary Becker was described as a daredevil who once bungee-jumped out of a hot-air balloon. Last week, he competed in an Iron Man competition in Canada.
Mary Becker was a former schoolteacher who started a business called Legal Remedies to place lawyers. She chaired the March of Dimes fund-raising ball in March.
The Beckers also were partners with Mariel Hemingway and her husband, Steve Crisman, in Sam's Cafe, a restaurant in the Pavilion on Post Oak that has closed.
Ahrens owned a car-detailing company. He was traveling with Coleman, who won the Miss Rockwear beauty contest sponsored by radio station KLOL.
Al Sumrall apparently owned the jet, but little other information was available about the Sumralls or Rich, the pilot.
He was killed in an airplane crash near Santa Fe, New Mexico along with 6 other people.
N.M. plane crash kills 7 from Houston area
Houston Chronicle-SEPTEMBER 8, 1993
The bodies of seven Houston-area residents, who had been on their way to a vacation in Santa Fe, N.M., were found Tuesday in the charred wreckage of a private Learjet on a rural New Mexico mesa.
The dead were attorney Gary Becker, 40; his wife, Mary Becker, 40, an entrepreneur; businessman Bucky Ahrens, in his late 20s; Kym Coleman, 26, a model; co-pilot Al Sumrall; his wife, Lori Sumrall; and pilot Morty Rich.
The jet was en route Sunday from Houston's Hobby Airport to Santa Fe when radar contact was lost about 5:10 p.m. Santa Fe time, New Mexico State Police Major Frank Taylor said. The plane was scheduled to return to Houston on Monday.
"When these people never arrived, the family members started making inquiries," Taylor said.
The relatives notified state police at noon Tuesday, and an aerial search was launched, Taylor said. A state police helicopter found the wreckage at 3:19 p.m. on Rowe Mesa, a 7,500-foot-high plateau about 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe.
The plane was found about four miles from the last place its radar emitted a signal to the nearest flight recording computer tape. "It (Rowe Mesa) is remote, but roads give access to the area, though it's pretty dense," Taylor said.
Investigators were on the scene picking through the rubble, but the cause of the crash had not been determined, Taylor said. The bodies were to be sent to the Albuquerque medical examiner's office.
The last radar-tracking contact showed the plane at 8,700 feet, too low for its position relative to the Santa Fe airport, and descending faster than normal, Taylor said.
"He was dropping pretty fast," Taylor said. "I don't know if there was a problem. I don't know what the pilot was thinking or what was going on there. We don't know what happened after that."
The pilot never radioed the Santa Fe airport for landing, Taylor said.
He said the plane did not explode but hit a tree line where the wings were ripped off, then crashed into a sloping side of the mesa, leaving a 100-yard path of debris.
"When it hit the tree line, it broke the wings apart and everything else," Taylor said.
Only one body was found in the plane, he said. The others were some distance away.
Funeral arrangements for the Beckers are pending with Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering.
Arrangements for the other five could not be confirmed Tuesday.
A family friend of the Beckers said the group decided to go to New Mexico on a lark Sunday and planned to return Monday.
Gary Becker was described as a daredevil who once bungee-jumped out of a hot-air balloon. Last week, he competed in an Iron Man competition in Canada.
Mary Becker was a former schoolteacher who started a business called Legal Remedies to place lawyers. She chaired the March of Dimes fund-raising ball in March.
The Beckers also were partners with Mariel Hemingway and her husband, Steve Crisman, in Sam's Cafe, a restaurant in the Pavilion on Post Oak that has closed.
Ahrens owned a car-detailing company. He was traveling with Coleman, who won the Miss Rockwear beauty contest sponsored by radio station KLOL.
Al Sumrall apparently owned the jet, but little other information was available about the Sumralls or Rich, the pilot.
Bucky owned an auto detail business and was a nice guy. He hand pinstriped cars with beautiful designs. He is missed.
He was killed in an airplane crash near Santa Fe, New Mexico along with 6 other people.
N.M. plane crash kills 7 from Houston area
Houston Chronicle-SEPTEMBER 8, 1993
The bodies of seven Houston-area residents, who had been on their way to a vacation in Santa Fe, N.M., were found Tuesday in the charred wreckage of a private Learjet on a rural New Mexico mesa.
The dead were attorney Gary Becker, 40; his wife, Mary Becker, 40, an entrepreneur; businessman Bucky Ahrens, in his late 20s; Kym Coleman, 26, a model; co-pilot Al Sumrall; his wife, Lori Sumrall; and pilot Morty Rich.
The jet was en route Sunday from Houston's Hobby Airport to Santa Fe when radar contact was lost about 5:10 p.m. Santa Fe time, New Mexico State Police Major Frank Taylor said. The plane was scheduled to return to Houston on Monday.
"When these people never arrived, the family members started making inquiries," Taylor said.
The relatives notified state police at noon Tuesday, and an aerial search was launched, Taylor said. A state police helicopter found the wreckage at 3:19 p.m. on Rowe Mesa, a 7,500-foot-high plateau about 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe.
The plane was found about four miles from the last place its radar emitted a signal to the nearest flight recording computer tape. "It (Rowe Mesa) is remote, but roads give access to the area, though it's pretty dense," Taylor said.
Investigators were on the scene picking through the rubble, but the cause of the crash had not been determined, Taylor said. The bodies were to be sent to the Albuquerque medical examiner's office.
The last radar-tracking contact showed the plane at 8,700 feet, too low for its position relative to the Santa Fe airport, and descending faster than normal, Taylor said.
"He was dropping pretty fast," Taylor said. "I don't know if there was a problem. I don't know what the pilot was thinking or what was going on there. We don't know what happened after that."
The pilot never radioed the Santa Fe airport for landing, Taylor said.
He said the plane did not explode but hit a tree line where the wings were ripped off, then crashed into a sloping side of the mesa, leaving a 100-yard path of debris.
"When it hit the tree line, it broke the wings apart and everything else," Taylor said.
Only one body was found in the plane, he said. The others were some distance away.
Funeral arrangements for the Beckers are pending with Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering.
Arrangements for the other five could not be confirmed Tuesday.
A family friend of the Beckers said the group decided to go to New Mexico on a lark Sunday and planned to return Monday.
Gary Becker was described as a daredevil who once bungee-jumped out of a hot-air balloon. Last week, he competed in an Iron Man competition in Canada.
Mary Becker was a former schoolteacher who started a business called Legal Remedies to place lawyers. She chaired the March of Dimes fund-raising ball in March.
The Beckers also were partners with Mariel Hemingway and her husband, Steve Crisman, in Sam's Cafe, a restaurant in the Pavilion on Post Oak that has closed.
Ahrens owned a car-detailing company. He was traveling with Coleman, who won the Miss Rockwear beauty contest sponsored by radio station KLOL.
Al Sumrall apparently owned the jet, but little other information was available about the Sumralls or Rich, the pilot.
He was killed in an airplane crash near Santa Fe, New Mexico along with 6 other people.
N.M. plane crash kills 7 from Houston area
Houston Chronicle-SEPTEMBER 8, 1993
The bodies of seven Houston-area residents, who had been on their way to a vacation in Santa Fe, N.M., were found Tuesday in the charred wreckage of a private Learjet on a rural New Mexico mesa.
The dead were attorney Gary Becker, 40; his wife, Mary Becker, 40, an entrepreneur; businessman Bucky Ahrens, in his late 20s; Kym Coleman, 26, a model; co-pilot Al Sumrall; his wife, Lori Sumrall; and pilot Morty Rich.
The jet was en route Sunday from Houston's Hobby Airport to Santa Fe when radar contact was lost about 5:10 p.m. Santa Fe time, New Mexico State Police Major Frank Taylor said. The plane was scheduled to return to Houston on Monday.
"When these people never arrived, the family members started making inquiries," Taylor said.
The relatives notified state police at noon Tuesday, and an aerial search was launched, Taylor said. A state police helicopter found the wreckage at 3:19 p.m. on Rowe Mesa, a 7,500-foot-high plateau about 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe.
The plane was found about four miles from the last place its radar emitted a signal to the nearest flight recording computer tape. "It (Rowe Mesa) is remote, but roads give access to the area, though it's pretty dense," Taylor said.
Investigators were on the scene picking through the rubble, but the cause of the crash had not been determined, Taylor said. The bodies were to be sent to the Albuquerque medical examiner's office.
The last radar-tracking contact showed the plane at 8,700 feet, too low for its position relative to the Santa Fe airport, and descending faster than normal, Taylor said.
"He was dropping pretty fast," Taylor said. "I don't know if there was a problem. I don't know what the pilot was thinking or what was going on there. We don't know what happened after that."
The pilot never radioed the Santa Fe airport for landing, Taylor said.
He said the plane did not explode but hit a tree line where the wings were ripped off, then crashed into a sloping side of the mesa, leaving a 100-yard path of debris.
"When it hit the tree line, it broke the wings apart and everything else," Taylor said.
Only one body was found in the plane, he said. The others were some distance away.
Funeral arrangements for the Beckers are pending with Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering.
Arrangements for the other five could not be confirmed Tuesday.
A family friend of the Beckers said the group decided to go to New Mexico on a lark Sunday and planned to return Monday.
Gary Becker was described as a daredevil who once bungee-jumped out of a hot-air balloon. Last week, he competed in an Iron Man competition in Canada.
Mary Becker was a former schoolteacher who started a business called Legal Remedies to place lawyers. She chaired the March of Dimes fund-raising ball in March.
The Beckers also were partners with Mariel Hemingway and her husband, Steve Crisman, in Sam's Cafe, a restaurant in the Pavilion on Post Oak that has closed.
Ahrens owned a car-detailing company. He was traveling with Coleman, who won the Miss Rockwear beauty contest sponsored by radio station KLOL.
Al Sumrall apparently owned the jet, but little other information was available about the Sumralls or Rich, the pilot.
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