A plane crash that occurred in Florida Thursday afternoon has claimed the lives of six people all of whom were from Junction City.
According to reports from the Polk County Sheriff’s office, a single-engine Pilatus PC-12 crashed in a remote swamp near Lake Wales, Florida shortly after 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Flight records indicate the aircraft which is registered to Roadside ventures in Junction City had taken off from the Bahamas on Thursday morning and had stopped in Florida for refueling before continuing on to Junction City.
The deceased have been identified as 45-year old Ron Bramlage of Junction City who was piloting the plane and his 43-year old wife Becky Bramlage. According to The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida the Bramlages lost their lives in the crash along with their four children, three boys and one girl. The names and ages of the children were not released by authorities. Reports say the aircraft veered from its course shortly after takeoff and crashed in a swampy area southeast of Lakeland, Florida. The plane had been scheduled to arrive at Junction City’s Freeman Field shortly after 3:30 Thursday afternoon.
According to Scott Wilder, the director of communications with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the plane began to come apart in the air because there is a debris field of 3.4 miles from the crash site.
Ron Bramlage was the grandson of Fred Bramlage, the lead donor who made possible the construction of Bramlage Coliseum, home to the Kansas State University Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams since 1988. Late Thursday afternoon K-State President Kirk Schulz and Athletics Director John Currie released a joint statement through the Athletics Department Twitter account saying: “Kansas State University and K-State Athletics mourn the passing of Ron and Becky Bramlage and their children today. The Bramlage family holds a special place in the history of Kansas State University and K-State Athletics and Ron and Becky have been loyal supporters and great fans of K-State, Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bramlage family during this difficult time.”
Stay with KMAN for further information on this developing story.
