Plane crash claims lives of Port Allen family; father left mourning

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Looking down from high above, you can see the stain the plane crash left on Lefthand Canyon in Colorado Sunday morning, July 17. That crash left a hole in Joe Kirby’s heart as he learned the news back here at home in Port Allen.

“I’m crying my eyes and my heart out with very little sleep,” said Kirby.

Joe’s two kids, 17-year-old Ian and 13-year-old Amanda were on board a plane typically used by tourists to go sightseeing. The plane was only in the air for about 10 minutes before plunging to the ground.

“Very good kids, loveable, would go out of their way to help anybody as much as they can,” Kirby continued.

Ian was about to start his senior year in the Port Allen High School Band while his sister Amanda was getting ready to start 8th grade. She too wanted to be in the band just like her brother. The two of them were on vacation with their mother, Joe’s ex-wife Sandra, who worked as an administrator at LSU for almost 25 years.

According to the university, “Sandra was a warm-hearted person and had a welcoming face for our students who came to our Graduate Studies office for help.”

Despite having his world shattered, Joe is still thankful to all first responders who rushed to the scene.

“We appreciate all the responders that had come out to take care of my family and the pilot to make sure they were taken care of the best way that they could,” Kirby explained.

The FAA and local authorities in Boulder are still investigating what exactly happened and why the plane failed.

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