NASCAR owner hurt in plane crash
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Auto racing magnate Jack Roush has been transferred to the Mayo Clinic
- Roush had facial surgery Tuesday night
- The NTSB says Roush's plane rolled hard to the right and cartwheeled upon landing
- Roush, an airplane enthusiast, was heading to an air show
(CNN) -- NASCAR team owner Jack Roush, who was injured in a plane crash Tuesday, was transferred from a Wisconsin hospital to the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, according to a statement released Thursday by one of his companies.
"Following surgery Tuesday night, related to the facial damage sustained in the accident, he remains in serious, but stable condition," said the statement from ROUSH Performance Products. "He will continue to be treated at Mayo Clinic for his facial injuries. The ROUSH organization would like to thank the physicians and staff at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, for the care and treatment provided during his stay."
When the auto racing magnate crashed his plane at an Oshkosh, Wisconsin, airport Tuesday night, the aircraft "cartwheeled" an undetermined number of times and ended up facing in the opposite direction, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said Wednesday.
Knudson said upon landing, the Beechcraft Premier jet, registered to Roush Fenway Racing LLC, rolled "hard to the right," then its right wing dropped "way down" and struck a grass strip, and the plane flipped over at least once. The jet ended up facing north, though it had flown in facing south, Knudson said.
The NASCAR owner was piloting the plane, which took off from Detroit, Michigan, Knudson said.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the accident.
Roush's company said Thursday it would "like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and well wishes" and encouraged people wishing to make a charitable donation in the name of Jack Roush to contribute to Speedway Children's Charities on the organization's website.
The Experimental Aircraft Association said in a statement Tuesday night that Roush's passenger in the plane was Brenda Strickland of Plymouth, Michigan. Video showed the two of them walking away from the plane, which appeared to be split toward its midsection.
Strickland was brought to Oshkosh's Mercy Medical Center. She was treated, then released Wednesday, Mercy spokeswoman Maria Heim said Thursday.
The Experimental Aircraft Association's annual air show, AirVenture 2010, had just ended for the day Tuesday at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh when the crash happened at 6:15 p.m., association spokesman Dick Knapinski said.
The accident shut down the airport until its regular 8 p.m. closing time, but the airport re-opened Wednesday morning, according to Knapinski.
He said Roush comes every year and "does presentations as an airplane enthusiast."
Knapinski said Roush owns one of "probably fewer than 200 airworthy" World War II-era P-51 Mustang fighter planes and was scheduled to give a presentation about his vintage prop plane Tuesday. Roush had also been slated to appear at the air show Wednesday, signing autographs and talking to NASCAR fans at the Ford tent.
"Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR's largest team, operating eight motorsports teams -- four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan, and four in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Colin Braun, Brian Ickler and Paul Menard," said a statement from Roush's racing team.
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