Medical examiner: 3 of 6 victims from plane crash identified

CLEVELAND (AP) — The recovered remains of three of the six people killed when a plane crashed into Lake Erie off Cleveland last month have been identified, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said today.

Identifications were made for the plane's pilot, 45-year-old John Fleming, of Dublin, Ohio, formerly of Boardman, his 15-year-old son, Jack, and a family friend, 50-year-old Brian Casey, of Powell, Ohio.

The other three people on the plane were Fleming's 46-year-old wife, Sue, their 14-year-old son, Andrew, and Casey's 19-year-old daughter, Megan, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cleveland officials announced Tuesday that it was ending recovery efforts and said it was unlikely additional remains would be found because of conditions in Lake Erie.

The six were flying back to Columbus after attending a Cleveland Cavaliers game on Dec. 29.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report Thursday night that said John Fleming, a Columbus businessman, had received a certification to fly the Cessna Citation 525 just 21 days before the crash. The NTSB report provides a timeline for the crash, but does not indicate why the plane suddenly lost altitude and crashed one minute after takeoff.

According to the NTSB report, the air traffic controller at Burke Lakefront Airport cleared Fleming for takeoff at 10:56 p.m. and instructed him to turn right and maintain an altitude of 2,000 feet. Fleming acknowledged the clearance. After takeoff, the controller told Fleming to contact departure control. Fleming didn't respond.

The report said position data indicated the plane reached an altitude of approximately 2,925 feet, nearly 1,000 feet higher than what the air traffic controller had instructed. About five seconds later, the plane quickly descended. The final data point was recorded at 10:57 p.m., showing the plane's altitude at just 775 feet.