Oct 11, 2006 By Josh Krysak 3 min read

JEFFERSON TWP. – Emergency officials have identified the two victims of a small plane crash Monday afternoon in Jefferson Township as a flight instructor from Belle Vernon and a Pittsburgh man who co-owned the plane. Investigators confirmed the bodies found were Charles A. Schreiber, 72, of Pittsburgh and Elaine Heston, 44, of Belle Vernon.

Schreiber and Heston were identified Tuesday afternoon following a grueling morning as officials worked to extract the bodies from the wrecked Mooney M20F that went down in a heavily wooded area near Brownsville around 3:20 p.m. Monday.

Schreiber was pronounced dead by Fayette County Deputy Coroner Jason Novak at 4:40 p.m. Monday, according to Deputy Coroner Marisa Springer.

Heston was pronounced dead by Fayette County Deputy Coroner Janice Novak at 4:42 p.m. Monday, Springer said.

Both victims suffered massive injuries, according to investigators.

Allegheny County Forensic Pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht conducted an autopsy Tuesday evening, but results were not available as of press time.

“It was a very difficult and trying day for us but all the emergency crews out there came together to get this thing taken care of,” coroner’s office chief field investigator Roger Victor said.

FAA officials confirmed that the plane took off from the Rostraver Airport for Schreiber’s biennial flight review Monday afternoon.

Heston was the owner of Aero Executive Services, a charter service and flight school operated at the Rostraver Airport.

National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Jill Andrews could not be reached for updated comments on the crash late Tuesday.

Arlene Murray, spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said the plane was a single-engine general aviation aircraft.

According to FAA records, the plane is co-owned by Schreiber and Dennis P. Bucci, also of Pittsburgh.

Murray said the investigation into the crash could take months.

Searchers deployed local medical helicopters to scour the woods where the plane went down, after no smoke or visible sign of an accident could be found.

After the fixed-wing plane was discovered, rescue workers used all-terrain vehicles to access the crash site and later employed a bulldozer to cut a roadway to the downed plane.

Volunteer firefighters from Grindstone shut down all roads leading into the crash site, which was located in a heavily wooded area about two miles off Zazado Road in Jefferson Township.

According to the NTSB, 81 aviation accidents were reported worldwide in September alone, with all but 14 occurring in the United States.

One of the crashes, a Boeing 737 that went down in Brazil, killed 155 people. The remaining accidents that all involved smaller planes, resulted in 49 deaths, according to NTSB.

The FAA reports that there are 8,077 registered aircraft in the state of Pennsylvania.

Lycoming manufactured the Mooney M20F in 1967.

The FAA certified the plane piloted by Schreiber in 1991, according to online records.

Officials at Rostraver Airport could not be reached for comment on the crash.

The Addy Funeral Home in Newcomerstown, Ohio, is handling funeral arrangements for Heston.

The George Irvin Green Funeral Home in Munhall is handling funeral arrangements for Schreiber.