More detail on this person: It is with deep sadness that we report the loss of PHX AB Captain
Sherman Anderson and his wife, Sherry, along with one other passenger aboard a small plane that
crashed about one mile west of Telluride Regional Airport, CO, on Sunday, February 16, 2014.
"Sherman grew up in southern Georgia. He graduated from Bacon County High School in Alma,
Georgia. He attended Georgia Southern. His education was interrupted by the draft. He was honorably
discharged as a Warrant Officer, Helicopter Pilot in 1971. Sherman had a passion for flying as you
can see from his record below. He was looking forward to helping young people experience the magic
of flying after retirement later this year."
Captain Anderson had over 30,000 flight hours. He earned his BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE from
the University of the State of New York in Albany, NY. He was Honorably Discharged as a US Army
Warrant Officer, Helicopter Pilot (1969-1971), flew for ATCO in Alma, Georgia (1971-1981), Atlantic
Southeast Airlines (1981-1987), Eastern Airlines (1987-1989), and Captain Anderson was hired by
America West Airlines/US Airways in September 1990 and was a Captain on the Airbus 319/320/321.
Sherman Hamilton Anderson, 64, of Phoenix, Ariz., died suddenly Sunday (Feb. 16, 2014) in Colorado,
along with his wife, Sherry Anderson, from injuries sustained in an airplane crash.
He was a native of Jacksonville, Fla. who lived many years in Bacon County before moving to Phoenix
many years ago.
A 1967 graduate of Bacon County High School, he attended Georgia Southern College in Statesboro
and graduated from Phoenix University.
He was responsible for teaching many to become pilots in this area and a was veteran of the Vietnam
War. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism while participating in aerial flight
evidenced by voluntary actions above and beyond the call of duty and for exceptionally valorous
actions while serving as pilot in command and control of his aircraft during a combat operation in
the Seven Sisters Mountain Area, displaying dynamic airmanship and undaunted courage, braving
intense fire on countless occasions throughout the battle and for his heroic actions in keeping with
the highest traditions of the military service and the U.S. Army.
He was a pilot/captain with U.S. Airways the past 35 years and was a member of Douglas Chapel
Baptist Church.
Survivors include his daughter, Samantha Keene Anderson, of Phoenix, Ariz.; his parents, Maynard
Colvin Anderson and Vera "Bea" Rentz Anderson, of Alma; a brother, Mark Anderson (Jackie), of
Brunswick.
The funeral will be held Wednesday at 3 o'clock in the chapel of Crosby Funeral Home with the Rev.
Tom Davis and the Rev. Jerry Chancy officiating.
Interment will follow in Douglas Chapel Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home Wednesday from noon until funeral time.
Donations may be made to the Pilots for Kids, P.O. Box 620052, Orlando, Fla. 32862-0052 or the
Alzheimer's Association at alz.org Active pallbearers will be Marvin Deen, Jimmy McCall, Jerry and
David Lee, James Henry Carter, Jay Williams and Jim Mc-Quaig. Honorary pallbearers will be Roger
Johnson, Jimmy and Johnny Nobles, Tom Harris, Mayo Mims and all others in attendance.
Crosby Funeral Home is in charge of all the arrangements.
Waycross Journal Herald (GA) - Monday, February 24, 2014
Sherman Anderson, Sherry Anderson, and Eric Durban: Plane crash victims remembered as 'great
people'
TELLURIDE - As federal aviation officials descend on the site of Sunday's fatal plane crash, the
friends and colleagues of the three victims - all of whom were pilots - struggle to understand what
went wrong.
Sherman Anderson, 64; his wife, Sherry Anderson, 57; and Eric Durban, 48, perished when the
Beechcraft Debonair BE35-33 in which they were flying crashed in mountainous terrain about 1 mile
west of Telluride Regional Airport, shortly after take-off.
The 1960 fixed-wing, single-engine craft was acquired by Arizona Cloudbusters Flying Club just last
May, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
All three victims had been club members, John Hartman said on Monday, on behalf of the club.
"It's real unfortunate. They were great people and great pilots. I don't know what happened," he
said.
The club in a news release extended condolences to the Anderson and Durban families and said it is
fully cooperating with state and federal officials to determine why the plane went down.
Sherman Anderson reportedly worked for US Airways as a commercial pilot. Durban was identified as a
former military pilot. Sherry Anderson flew for United Airlines, a spokesman confirmed Monday.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families during this difficult time," Luke Punzenberg
said.
The three took off from Phoenix at 8 a.m. (Colorado time) Sunday, landing at Telluride at 10:29,
according to radar data Civil Air Patrol pilot Mark Young shared with the Daily Press. The plane
departed at about 11:20 a.m. in light snow and calm winds, reportedly bound for Cortez, but soon
vanished from radar. The last radar target received was at 11:26 a.m., a half mile off the end of
the runway, according to data.
Air traffic controllers in Denver alerted the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office, which immediately
launched a search.
The plane's emergency locator transponder could have malfunctioned, because it did not immediately
emit a readable signal, Sheriff Bill Masters said. "We don't really know what caused that.
Initially, it was not going off and then it started going off and we received the signal," he said.
The SMCSO used nearly a dozen trained personnel and the Civil Air Patrol to search for the downed
plane. Masters said inbound and outbound planes at Telluride were also monitoring for the frequency,
and two ground radars were also in use.
Young said the CAP was called out at 3:15 p.m. and was able to pick up the ELT signal. The CAP
established the signal's proximity, narrowing down the search field for ground radar and SMCSO
deputies in a contracted helicopter.
Deputies spotted the wreckage at 5:17 p.m., about 300 feet down from the top of the cliff band it
had crashed into, Masters said. The Beechcraft had burned. Deputies confirmed no one had survived.
Authorities planned out recovery efforts, which took place Monday morning over several hours as
deputies negotiated the steep, treed terrain to reach the victims, all of whom were found with the
plane.
All three bodies have been handed over to the San Miguel County coroner.
It was not immediately clear who had been at the controls, or whether the plane had recently fueled.
Masters said he did not know if icing might have been a factor.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the
crash and have not determined the cause, said Ian Gregor, FAA public affairs manager. Preliminary
reports may be made within a few weeks, but determining probable cause of crashes tends to take
months, he said.
Masters said his office is assisting the NTSB's investigators with removing the plane's wreckage
today.
"This is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for. It's just a terrible tragedy," Masters said
in a Sunday news release.
The triple fatal follows a spate of deadly small aircraft crashes late last year. November crashes
in Delta County killed Tari Taricco of California on his way to Aspen, and Jason Cook of Montrose,
as he reportedly traveled to the Crawford Airport for a pilot's test. In December, Dana Brewer,
William Kennon and Jim Platz, all of Mesa County, died in a crash near Collbran.
Montrose Daily Press, The (CO) - Tuesday, February 18, 2014
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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