Steve Brown of PSI springs lost in plane crash

SALISBURY — Divers recovered the body late this morning of Steve Bown from the underwater wreckage of his four-seater Cessna 350 plane, which crashed Friday afternoon into High Rock Lake.

The recovery came at 11:42 a.m. when divers Pete Ressa and Chris Moroch located Bown’s body in the plane’s fuselage 27 feet underwater and brought it back to the surface.

Karyn Martin also died in the Friday crash. Her body was recovered from the lake about an hour after the plane went down.

Bown was president of Performance Springs Inc. of New Hudson, Mich. The company, which produces valve springs for engines, has strong ties to the racing industry, including NASCAR.

“He had been here (in Davidson County) on racing business,” Rowan County Fire Marshal Tom Murphy said.

The Cessna Columbia 350 took off from the Davidson County airport about 1:15 p.m. Friday, heading for Florida, and was only in the air briefly before crashing. Reports said the plane’s landing gear was still down.

The couple apparently had flown from Commerce Township, Mich., the day before and spent the night in Davidson County so Bown could conduct business.

A recent Popular Mechanics article credited Performance Springs with producing the steel spring that revolutioned NASCAR by providing engines with increased power. The spring’s job is to keep an engine valve closed.

Performance Springs was founded in 1996, and Bown was lead engineer besides being the company president. The firm also provided springs for racing teams in IRL and NHRA Pro Stock


Prayers to the family and friends

 

This is very sad. Our condolences to family and friends and extended families.......