Fred L. Phillips, Who Survived A Deadly Home Explosion In Pagosa Springs, Killed When Kit-Built Jet Crashes Into Lake
(CBS4/AP)- A Louisiana man who survived a deadly home explosion in Pagosa Springs that killed his longtime girlfriend in October 2019 has died in a crash of a one-set jet that was assembled from a kit. Fred L. Phillips died Sunday afternoon when his single-engine SubSonex plane with tail number N465JC crashed into Cross Lake in Caddo Parish.
Phillips, 73, was the president and CEO of Phillips Energy Inc.
The plane flew for about 9 minutes before crashing, according to investigators. Phillips' body was recovered from the plane after divers found it.
On October 11, 2019, Phillips and Electra Churchill, from Louisiana, traveled to Colorado to catch the changing aspens. They were in the guest house on their property in Pagosa Springs when the explosion happened. Bystanders say Phillips tried to go back after Churchill when neighbors helped rescue him, but she did not survive.
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