North Dakota state Rep. Liz Conmy, 67, and pilot Joe Cass died Saturday when their single-engine plane crashed into a suburban park in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, shortly after takeoff from Crystal Airport. Emergency crews found the wreckage engulfed in flames.
The Beech F33A went down just before noon, barely twenty minutes after radar records showed it lifting off at 11:30 a.m. and heading north. Then it vanished from tracking systems. Bystanders called police. By the time first responders reached the green space in Brooklyn Park, a suburb north of Minneapolis, the aircraft was burning, The US Sun reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed two people were aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the crash. Authorities have not yet determined a cause.
Conmy, a Democrat from Fargo, represented the North Dakota Democratic, Nonpartisan League Party, the state affiliate of the national Democratic Party. She was a mother of four who began serving in the legislature in 2023, the New York Post reported. Federal investigators are still working to determine what brought the plane down.
Her party released a statement on X that captured the shock felt in Bismarck and beyond. The North Dakota Democratic, Nonpartisan League Party wrote:
"We are completely heartbroken and gutted by the loss of Representative Liz Conmy. Her death is a profound loss for our state."
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, also offered condolences. Fox News reported Armstrong's statement praising Conmy's record of service.
"Liz served her state and community with care and compassion."
Armstrong added, in remarks carried by the Post:
"Kjersti and I are saddened by this tragic loss and offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends and fellow legislators."
The bipartisan tone from the governor's office was notable. Whatever divides North Dakota's political parties, a colleague's sudden death in a burning aircraft is the kind of event that silences ordinary disagreements, at least for a time. The recent death of Georgia Democrat David Scott drew similar cross-party acknowledgment.
Radar data tells a brief, grim story. The Beech F33A departed Crystal Airport on Saturday morning. It climbed and traveled north. Then, at roughly 11:51 a.m., the aircraft dropped off tracking systems, Newsmax reported. Within minutes, witnesses in Brooklyn Park saw the plane come down and erupt in fire.
Crews extinguished the blaze and confirmed both occupants, Conmy and Cass, were dead. No one on the ground was reported injured, a small mercy given the crash site sat in a park in a populated suburb.
Crystal Airport closed after the incident. Operations have since resumed. The crash area itself is expected to remain closed for several days as federal investigators comb through the wreckage.
The NTSB has formally opened an investigation into the Beech F33A crash. The FAA is also involved. Neither agency has offered a preliminary finding on what caused the aircraft to go down so soon after takeoff. That question, mechanical failure, pilot incapacitation, weather, or something else, remains entirely open.
Fatal crashes involving small aircraft raise recurring questions about general-aviation safety, maintenance standards, and pilot training. The recent scrutiny of air-traffic staffing after the deadly Air Canada crash at LaGuardia underscored how thin the margin for error can be in American aviation, even at major airports, let alone smaller fields like Crystal.
AP News confirmed Conmy was from Fargo and served in the state legislature as a Democrat. She entered office in 2023, making her a relatively new member of the chamber. Her four children now face a loss no family should have to absorb.
State Sen. Tim Mathern also confirmed her death, Newsmax reported. The confirmation from multiple officials, her party, the governor, and a fellow legislator, left no ambiguity about the victim's identity.
The pilot, Joe Cass, has received far less public attention. His identity was reported by the New York Post. No further details about Cass, his background, his relationship to Conmy, or his flying experience, have been made public in the immediate aftermath.
The loss of any public servant in sudden, violent circumstances sends a particular kind of shock through a small-state legislature. North Dakota's House has just 94 members. Every seat matters. The death of longtime New York Democrat Eliot Engel earlier reminded the political world how quickly the familiar roster of names can change.
Investigators have not said what caused the Beech F33A to fall from the sky. They have not disclosed the plane's maintenance history, flight plan, or whether the pilot reported any trouble before the aircraft disappeared from radar. The NTSB's full investigation could take months.
It remains unclear why Conmy, a Fargo-based legislator, was flying out of Crystal Airport near Minneapolis, or what the purpose of the trip was. None of the official statements addressed the reason for the flight.
Tragedies involving elected officials inevitably prompt broader reflection. Sen. Mark Warner's recent loss of his daughter drew an outpouring of sympathy across party lines, as this crash has. These moments remind Americans that public life carries private weight, and sometimes unbearable cost.
For now, the wreckage sits in a cordoned-off park in Brooklyn Park. Federal investigators will pick through it. A family in Fargo will begin to grieve. And the North Dakota legislature will carry on with one fewer voice in the chamber.
Two people boarded a small plane Saturday morning. Twenty minutes later, both were gone. The facts will come when the NTSB finishes its work. Until then, the only honest response is the one Governor Armstrong offered: condolences, and the decency to let investigators do their job.
