Jul 21, 2002 By Amy Karpinsky 3 min read

JEFFERSON TWP. – While the Fayette County coroner’s office has released the identities of the two people killed in a single-engine plane crash Thursday near Grindstone, investigators still do not know what caused the accident. Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip E. Reilly identified the victims as Henry and Joann Lorenzetti, a husband and wife from the Boston, Mass., area.

Jim Peters of the Federal Aviation Administration said Henry Lorenzetti was piloting the plane and his wife was a passenger.

“It’s sad for the family,” Peters said.

The BE24 Musketeer Super Sierra plane was traveling from Lawrence, Mass., to Washington, Pa., around 6:45 p.m. Thursday when the crash occurred.

The National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation. The cause of the accident is unknown, although severe weather was present at the time.

According to Reilly, witnesses reported “a breakup of the plane, and the passenger fell out.” He said Henry Lorenzetti was found inside the wreckage.

Both the couple died of tremendous blunt force trauma injuries, Reilly said.

No wallets were found with the bodies and a full autopsy was scheduled for Saturday in Pittsburgh. Positive identification will be slow due to the condition of the bodies, Reilly said.

Reilly said a local man who was a brother-in-law to Henry Lorenzetti reported that the pilot had years of flying experience.

According to a preliminary accident report filed by the FAA, the pilot twice reported encountering severe turbulence before the crash, although the plane crashed “under unknown circumstances and was destroyed.”

Reilly said witness accounts indicate that something happened to the plane before it struck any trees on the ground and a wing sheared off.

Although earlier reports indicated a helicopter may have been involved in the crash, Reilly said that didn’t appear to be the case.

He said a helicopter arrived on the scene to help locate wreckage after the crash occurred.

The plane was registered to the Raytheon Employees Flying Club of Revere, Mass., Peters said. The club has no connection to the Lexington, Mass.-based defense contractor, but the club’s members are either employees, friends or family members of employees.

The fuselage of the plane landed along Laureldale Road, about two miles from Route 201, and wing sections were scattered along Stuckslager Road. Near the scene of the crash, several broken treetops were noticeable on the horizon. A number of witnesses described a burst of high winds that swept through the area as the plane fell from the sky.

Roland Herwick of the FAA public information office in Oklahoma said the plane had “no prior accidents or incidents.”

Although baby items were found around the crash site, Reilly said it is believed that only the pilot and passenger were on board the plane.