Family of 7 Left Homeless by Plane Crash Assisted : Response: Thanks are offered for lodging, food and clothing. Investigators say questions remain about who was piloting.

As investigators continued their probe into a plane crash near Fullerton Airport, a woman whose large family was left homeless by the disaster expressed her gratitude Wednesday for the outpouring of help they have received.

The homes of at least 16 people, including Susan Gilmore, her husband and five children, were destroyed Monday morning when a six-seat Piper Cherokee slammed into their townhouse complex. The plane’s pilot, his passenger and a woman in the building died in the tragedy.

“Without the help, it would have been harder to stay together as a family,” said Gilmore, who has been lodging at a local motel. “We probably would have been sleeping in my car.”

Gilmore, who appeared at a news conference at the local American Red Cross headquarters in Santa Ana, said the charity has kept the family fed, clothed and housed. She said her children’s school and neighbors have also pitched in.

“After the crash, a woman I didn’t even know reached into her suitcase and gave me some clothes,” Gilmore said. “Her car was all packed to go on vacation. I still don’t know who she was.”

The Red Cross has helped 13 of the people left homeless by the plane crash, providing rooms at motels and restaurant meals, said spokeswoman Judy Iannaccone.

“Organizations like ours are able to help people in situations like this only because the community helps us,” she said. “This is a moment for people to think about what they can do to help the victims of the Fullerton air crash and other disasters.”

Killed in the plane crash were 40-year-old Michael Benson and 47-year-old Les Arehart, both pilots and residents of Big Bear City, and 43-year-old Sharan Ernst, who was in her bedroom when the plane slammed into it.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash for several months, Gary Mucho, the agency’s regional director, said. Many questions remain, including who was flying the plane.

Arehart was a paraplegic, but the plane was not fitted with the special hand tools needed for him to fly an aircraft.

Benson owned the plane but he was not certified for instrument landings, although Arehart, a flight instructor, was. It remained unclear Wednesday whether Arehart’s presence would have allowed Benson to legally make an instrument landing.

Meanwhile, Anaheim officials said Wednesday that the Les Arehart Memorial Scholarship Trust has been established. Arehart was an employee of the city’s Finance Department.

Checks can be made out to: Les Arehart Memorial Scholarship Trust, PO Box 2799, Big Bear City, CA 92314. A memorial service has also been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in La Puente.

Services for Benson will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Big Bear, followed by graveside services at 3 p.m. at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.

A private service will take place Friday evening for Ernst at a church in Fullerton. Family members requested that information about the service not be made public.