Florida business executive, wife, killed in Rockbridge plane crash

STEELES TAVERN — A Florida business executive and his wife died in a small plane crash in Rockbridge County, family members confirmed today.

The single-engine aircraft traveling from New Jersey to Tampa smashed into a field at historic McCormick Farm on Sunday morning just past the Augusta County line, killing former Checker’s Drive-In Restaurants CEO Daniel Dorsch, 56, and his wife, Cyndie, 55.

“We are deeply sadded by the loss of Mr. Daniel Joseph Dorsch and his wife, Cyndie Dimalanta Dorsch, who passed away in a plane crash yesterday,“ said a statement from the family.

Federal aviation officials have declined to identify the victims.

Daniel Dorsch in 1999 took over Checker’s Drive-In Restaurants, a Tampa-based chain of almost 800 eateries mired in debt at the time. He was credited with turning the chain around before resigning less than four years later.

The plane was registered to Nicholas, Elliott & Jordan LLC, a Tampa company headed by Dorsch, according to Florida records. Dorsch is listed in federal records as a pilot licensed to fly single-engine aircraft.

The pilot of the doomed plane reported losing an exterior panel just after 10 a.m. Sunday after climbing from 26,000 to 32,000 feet, according aviation officials. The aircraft then dropped off the radar.

The pilot was seeking to divert to Lynchburg Regional Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The crash sprayed debris across an area of about 300 yards, said Virginia State Police Sgt. R.J. Carpentieri. McCormick Farm covers 600 acres and is owned by Virginia Tech. Some historic buildings are located there but were not damaged.

The couple flew June 30 from Tampa to New Jersey in the Pilatus PC-12, which is manufactured by Swiss-based Pilatus Aircraft and is used mostly for corporate travel.

Officials said NTSB investigators were looking at the Pilatus PC-12’s performance, a possible mechanical malfunction, the pilot’s physical condition, the weather at the time of the crash and air traffic. An NTSB investigation could last a week, officials said. The agency will issue an initial report, likely within 10 days.

The Pilatus PC-12 was developed in the early 1990s. It is a low-wing aircraft that can reach a maximum cruising speed of 322 mph.

Earlier this year, a Pilatus PC-12 crashed on approach at an airport in Butte, Mont., killing all 14 passengers.