GARDNER, Kan. -- The FAA and National Traffic Safety Bureau are still working in Branson, Missouri to determine what brought down the Piper Aircraft Keith and Dawn Curtis were on Sunday.
The newlyweds took off around 5 p.m. from Gardner municipal airport for a trip right before the holidays. Those holidays now marred by this tragedy.
"Pretty shocking really. It really hits too close to home you don't expect things like that. They're good people," John Banka, a neighbor said.
Neighbors at the Curtis' home on Gardner Lake said the couple just got married last month after several years of dating.
"From what I know of Keith, he had Corvettes and hot rods and motorcycles. I guess some people need to keep going faster and higher," Banka said.
He adds Keith Curtis had recently bought his second plane.
"I did remember seeing different planes flying out here really low and he'd say it was him flying over the house and checking everything out which is pretty neat," Banka said.
Keith Curtis was a fixture at the Gardner municipal airport. An employee told 41 Action News Tuesday the 52-year-old began taking flight lessons over the spring and recently obtained his pilot license.
On his Facebook, Curtis posted photos on board his plane including one on a trip to Branson back in October.
"Cause he was passionate about everything he did and for something like this to happen — it's horrible," Banka said.
Funeral arrangements for the Curtis' are still in the works.
