North Dakota lawmaker’s plane took off without runway lights before the crash that killed his family

By JACK DURA and JOSH FUNK
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota state senator took off from a remote Utah airport last month with his wife and two young sons in the plane without the runway lights on a dark night with no moonlight and crashed just a minute later killing everyone aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report Thursday that the runway lights that are controlled by the pilot remained dark. The  investigators also didn’t find any evidence of a mechanical failure before the Oct. 1 plane crash that killed State Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife Amy and sons Christian and Everett. Larsen had experience flying Black Hawk helicopters in the national guard and he had recently earned his commercial pilot’s license.