The patriarch of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick and wife Linda suffered minor injuries after a Florida plane crash Monday night (Oct. 31). According to the Miami Herald, the aircraft the couple was riding in, a Gulfstream 150, lost its brakes and ran off the runway around 7:45 p.m. at Key West International Airport.
Of the four people aboard, the two pilots – whose names were not released – were treated and released but both Hendricks have been admitted to Lower Keys Medical Center. HMS released a statement late Monday night confirming their injuries are not serious; the team claimed they are “gathering additional information on the incident” and will release additional details when they have them.
Director of the airport Peter Horton told the Herald the plane skidded all the way through the 4,800-foot runway and down a 600-foot paved safety area that had just been added in May. Without the additional distance, Horton predicted the outcome could have been “catastrophic.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Blog has a picture of the downed plane, confirming it was registered not to Hendrick but his driver, Jimmie Johnson.
This incident occurred seven years, seven days after the tragic Hendrick plane crash of 2004. In that incident, an HMS plane crashed in the foggy mountains near Martinsville, Va. and killed all 10 people on board, including Rick Hendrick’s 24-year-old son Ricky; brother John; nieces Kimberly and Jennifer; engine builder Randy Dorton; general manager Jeff Turner; DuPont executive Joe Jackson; and three pilots.
UPDATE: Hendrick Motorsports released a statement this morning confirming Rick Hendrick has been treated and released from the hospital for a broken rib and broken clavicle. Wife Linda had nothing more than some cuts and bruises, while the pilots escaped serious injury. All four have returned home to North Carolina.
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