North Dakota state Rep. Liz Conmy was killed Saturday when a small plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Minneapolis, authorities and party officials said. The crash happened just before noon in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, near Crystal Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said two people were on board the Beech F33A aircraft. Both died in the crash. The second victim was widely reported as the pilot, though officials had not publicly released a cause of the crash as of Sunday.
What happened after takeoff
Brooklyn Park police said officers responded at about 11:51 a.m. to reports of a small plane down. Authorities found the aircraft crashed and on fire in a park after it went down shortly after leaving Crystal Airport. No one on the ground was reported injured.
Video and witness accounts described a sudden impact followed by flames. Neighbors told local media they heard a loud boom and saw a large fire in the area moments later.
Who Liz Conmy was
Conmy, 67, represented Fargo and had served in the North Dakota House since 2023. Colleagues remembered her as energetic, direct, and deeply committed to public education, environmental issues, and government transparency.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said he and first lady Kjersti Armstrong were saddened by the loss and offered condolences to Conmy’s family, friends, and fellow legislators. The North Dakota Democratic NPL Party said her death was “a profound loss for our state.”
Investigation now underway
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the crash. Federal investigators were on site Sunday in Brooklyn Park to examine the wreckage and begin determining what caused the plane to fall shortly after takeoff.
Officials have not yet announced what caused the aircraft to go down. That means the most important unanswered question remains the same: what went wrong in the moments after the plane lifted off from Crystal Airport.
A sudden loss felt across two states
The crash shook both Minnesota, where the plane fell, and North Dakota, where Conmy served as a lawmaker. Her death quickly drew tributes from political allies, colleagues, and local leaders who described her as a forceful voice and a memorable presence. :
Readers can follow the investigation through the National Transportation Safety Board and review current reporting from The Associated Press. For now, the facts are simple and painful. A small plane went down minutes after takeoff, two people died, and North Dakota lost a sitting state legislator in an instant.