Victims of Mesa plane crash identified

With a collective gasp, patrons and employees at a Mesa shopping center watched a small airplane sputter on takeoff in a trail of smoke Wednesday morning and explode as it crashed into a nearby orange grove.

Mesa police confirmed the three people on the single-engine Lancair died in the 7 a.m. crash that occurred southwest of the intersection of Greenfield and McKellips roads.

VIDEO: Watch Tribune reporter Nicole Beyer's report

VIDEO: Eyewitnesses talk about the crash

SLIDESHOW: View photos from the crash scene

Killed were Brian White, 27, of Gilbert, Nicholas Boehle, 27, of Scottsdale and Lisa O'Neal, 28, of Phoenix.

The wreckage was about a quarter mile from Falcon Field and about 400 to 500 feet from a Super Wal-Mart and group of shops and restaurants.

“As far as I’m concerned, the guy’s a hero,” said witness Antonio Gonzalez, referring to the pilot of the plane. “He gave it up so he wouldn’t go into the shopping center.”

Boehle is listed as director of operations for American Medical Diagnostics. The company refused to comment on Wednesday.

Boehle and his father are listed as the officers of the company that owns the plane.

Wednesday’s crash was less than a mile from where two men walked away from a crash after takeoff from Falcon Field on March 18.

Ian Gregor, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman for the agency’s Western-Pacific Region, said the plane in Wednesday’s crash was owned by a Scottsdale corporation and it was headed to John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

Gregor said the control tower at Falcon Field reported to the pilot that the plane was trailing smoke and was cleared to return for landing.

Emergency personnel respond to a small plane crash in Mesa Wednesday morning. Three people were killed. Photo by Tribune

Tammy Neely of Mesa was arriving at work when she heard a plane that didn’t sound right.

The runway runs diagonally to the east-west McKellips Road and is directly north of the shopping center, which sits on the southeast corner of the intersection.

Planes are just beginning their ascent as they pass over the intersection and are close enough for those on the ground to view their markings and characteristics.

Neely said the white plane was “spitting smoke” as it took off and the engine was revving in a high pitch.

“I heard this sound like a plane in distress,” Neely said.

Jose Herrera, who was making a delivery in the back of Wal-Mart, said he saw the plane and it appeared the pilot was trying to gain control of it, but it flipped completely over as it banked right.

Neely said the ground shook as the plane exploded in the grove.

Neely said she ran across the street with other bystanders, but it became obvious there was nothing they could do as flames engulfed the plane.