Crash victims identified

UPDATE:

MESA - The three victims of an early morning plane crash have been identified. Those on board were identified as Brian White, 27 of Gilbert Nicholas Boehle, 27 of Scottsdale and Lisa Kleckner-O'Neal, 28 of Phoenix.

Kleckner-O'Neal was going on a business trip to Southern California.

The crash occurred just after 7:00 am Wednesday morning as the plane was just taking off from Falcon Field Airport. Shortly after takeoff, the single engine airplane experienced an undetermined engine malfunction.

Immediately after that, the airplane crashed into an orange grove to the southwest of the airport. Mesa Fire responded to the crash and was able to extinguish the fire which that occurred during the crash. Officials from the FAA and NTSB responded to the crash site to continue the investigation. For any additional information related to the cause of the accident, questions should be referred to the NTSB.

Two of three victims killed in plane crash

ORIGINAL REPORT:

MESA -- Three people were killed when a small plane crashed in a Mesa orange grove Wednesday morning.

Lisa Kleckner O'Neill was one of the crash victims

The single-engine plane reportedly was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived on the scene, said dispatchers for the Mesa Fire Department.

The plane, a Lancair, went down in an orange grove less than a mile from Falcon Field just after 7 a.m.

The plane, which was owned by a Scottsdale corporation, was carrying three people when it took off from Falcon Field for John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif., according to Ian Gregor of the FAA.

An air-traffic controller saw smoke coming from the plane just after takeoff and gave the pilot permission to return to the airport.

The plane went down in an orange grove as it made a left turn.

Witnesses said they heard the engine sputter just before the plane crashed about 1/4 mile from the airport.

"I saw the little bit of smoke coming out," said Tammy Neely, who saw the crash. "There were flames sky-high immediately. All you saw was flames"

The victims have not yet been identified.

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