A Shelby County school superintendent told IndyStar on Saturday that it’s his understanding the crash involved members of the Triton Central School community.
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“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we announce having received official notification of the victims of the tragic accident”, his statement said.
The crash occured when a small, private aircraft was attempting to land at teh end of the runway and pull back up.
Authorities have not identified the victims, but their remains are being transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond for positive identification.
He who worked as a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual and enjoyed a number of sports including golf, skiing and shooting sports.
Geller said the deceased have been identified as pilot William C. Hamerstadt, 64, Robert D. Ross, 73, Lisa K. Borinstein, 52, Luke J. Borinstein, 19, Emma R. Borinstein, 15, and Maren Timmermann, 16.
According to reports, all six passengers were from out of state.
Officials say the plane took off from Louisville on Friday morning and stopped in Shelbyville.
Joseph Borinstein said the family had chartered the plane to fly to Virginia, where his eldest grandson Drew is a senior at Virginia Military Institute.
Tanya Aquino, of Washington, was on an Amtrak train to Richmond when the train stopped near the scene of the crash.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said a small plane crash landed, and the impact of the crash caused the aircraft to catch fire. ‘It looked so awful the way the plane had landed’.
She says in an email that flames were coming out of the wreckage and the plane was “completely decimated”.
The airport has an average of 85 flights a day, mostly local general aviation. Ninety-one aircraft are based there, and most are single engine.
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Agents from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
