Three married couples killed in the crash of a small airplane in Alabama all lived in the university town of Oxford, Mississippi, where city flags were lowered Monday as residents grappled with the loss of so many lives at one time.
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The plane was traveling to Oxford, Mississippi, from Kissimmee, Florida. The news was announced at a joint news conference by Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon.
Nearby Northport mayor told reporters that the plane came down in trees roughly 1,000 feet away from where it was meant to land.
Dr. Michael Perry and his wife Kim Perry operated a dental clinic in Oxford as well as the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex.
Six people died in the crash: Dr. Jason Farese and his wife, Dr. Lea Farese; Dr. Michael Perry and his wife, Kim; and Dr. Austin Poole and his wife, Angie. She said it was not immediately clear if Tuscaloosa was meant to be a planned stop before the small aircraft developed engine problems.
Jason and Lea Farese leave behind three children.
The Piper PA-31 crashed in Van de Graaff Arboretum, a Tuscaloosa County park, about a quarter mile east of Tuscaloosa Regional Airport while attempting to make an emergency landing. The couple is survived through five children.
Dr Farese was a former Vanderbilt baseball player and met his wife in dental school.
The National Transportation Safety Board has arrived in Northport to investigate the crash. They opened their practice in 2004.
The crash happens on the anniversary of another plane crash, that of UPS Airlines Flight 1354.
Authorities say all six people on board the aircraft were killed.
Currently, the NTSB, FAA and Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide Unit teams are working together to come to “a very accurate conclusion accord to Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy”.
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“Anytime you have the loss of someone like this, it affects the whole community”, Carmen Kyle, Executive Director of the Southaven Chamber of Commerce said of Perry’s untimely death.
