Mother Says Marine Son, Fiancee Died in Air Crash

One of four victims who died when a single-engine Cessna crashed on takeoff was identified Tuesday as Vincent M. Correal, a Marine stationed at the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

Correal, a Marine pilot, was from Carlisle, Pa., and was identified by his mother, Paula Correal.

She said the other three victims who died in Monday’s crash included Correal’s fiancee, but she did not disclose her name. The couple had planned to marry Dec. 31, she said. The identities of the others could not be determined by late Tuesday.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher Karen Vierra said authorities are withholding the identities of all victims pending autopsies by the medical examiner’s office. Investigators said the plane was registered in Southern California, and all of the victims were believed to be in their 20s.

Pilots who witnessed the takeoff attempt said they heard the engine sputtering just before the four-passenger craft crashed into a brush-covered field, about 700 feet beyond the end of the runway.

The witnesses saw flames erupt in the engine area and spread to the fuselage, engulfing the plane and nearby brush, burning about a quarter of an acre. Parts of the plane were melted by the intense heat.

The Cessna 172RG apparently hit the ground nose first and bounced, landing upside-down about 10 feet from its initial point of impact, said Jim Woods, a Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector. He said it resembled a charred wad of crumpled paper.

Preliminary reports suggest that the plane may have stalled during takeoff, meaning its wings were not properly angled to achieve lift, Woods said.