Papa John’s franchisee Daniel Dorsch, wife die in plane crash
Tampa Bay Business Journal
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are trying to determine the cause of an airplane crash that killed Tampa businessman Daniel Dorsch and his wife, Cyndie Dorsch.
Air traffic controllers received a distress call at 10:06 a.m. Sunday from Daniel who said an exterior panel on the Pilatus PC-12 fell from the plane. The turboprop was en route to Tampa Executive Air Center from Teterboro, N.J., when it crashed. Investigators have said a flight plan shows five people were on board.
Daniel, whose business interests included the 66,000-square-foot Fun Bike Center on Memorial Drive in Lakeland and Papa John’s Pizza franchises, was chief executive officer of Checkers Drive-in Restaurants Inc. from 1999-2003.
A Dorsch family spokesperson confirmed Daniel and Cyndie Dorsch were killed in the crash. They had a home in Tampa Palms, according to property records.
“Mr. Dorsch was a strong leader, a respected entrepreneur and a successful CEO who cared deeply about his employees and his businesses,” said a statement.
The NTSB scheduled a Tuesday press conference on the crash in rural Virginia, which reportedly left a 5-foot crater in the earth.
Daniel was certified since September 2007 to fly single- and multi-engine airplanes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. He also had an instrument flight rating.
The airplane was registered to Jordan Nicholas Elliott Inc., a company named after the couple’s three sons.
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