SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Six people killed in the fiery crash of a small plane on a golf course in a Phoenix suburb shortly it took off from a nearby airport were identified by authorities Wednesday.
Scottsdale police said the victims were Erik Valente, 26; James Louis Pedroza, 28; Mariah Sunshine Coogan, 23; Anand Anil Patel, 28; Helena Lagos, 22; and Iris Carolina Rodriguez Garcia, 23.
Some of their hometowns weren’t immediately available, but police said the victims’ families have been notified.
Article continues below …
The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that the plane was headed to Las Vegas and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were trying to determine if the Piper PA-24 Comanche was overloaded and not equipped to carry six people.
The plane went down Monday night on the TPC Scottsdale Champions Golf Course, less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) north of the Scottsdale Airport, and burst into flames.
NTSB investigators were at the crash site Tuesday examining the burned wreckage next to a tree.
The wreckage will be transported to Phoenix for examination, according to authorities.
The agency is expected to issue a preliminary report on the crash within two weeks, said NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss.
The Republic said Coogan was from Santa Rosa, California, and was a horse trainer and aspiring model.
Patel, an Oklahoma resident known to his friends as ”Happy,” co-founded a clothing line and worked as an event promoter, the newspaper reported.
Phoenix TV station KTVK said Pedroza, from Las Vegas, bought the 1970 six-seat plane in February.
Investigators have not confirmed yet if Pedroza was piloting the aircraft when it crashed.