Lake Erie Plane Victims: Father Of Pilot Says Crash May Have Occurred As Search Continues

The search for a small plane carrying six people that lost contact with air traffic control shortly after takeoff late Thursday night is still ongoing, but the father of the pilot revealed his son’s identity and clarified who else was aboard the flight to the Toledo Blade Friday morning.

The plane took off at 10:57 p.m. Thursday night, but shortly thereafter all contact with the aircraft was lost. As the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards continues to scour a two-mile area near Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, fears are arising that the plane crash into Lake Erie.

The pilot was John T. Fleming, CEO of Superior Beverage Group in Columbus, Ohio. His wife, Suzanne, was also on board along with their two teenage sons, a neighbor and a neighbor’s daughter, John W. Fleming told The Blade.

The names of the other people onboard have not been revealed yet.

“They think they may have crashed into Lake Erie,” the elder Fleming said.

“We’re just in shock,” he said. “The Coast Guard is still doing a search up there right now.”

Though he called his son an “experienced” pilot, Fleming wouldn’t tell The Blade how long his son had been flying.

The group was heading to the Ohio State University Airport, where the Cessna Citation 525 is hangared and registered to Fleming, after attending a Cleveland Cavaliers game at Quicken Loans Arena.

However, those aboard reportedly had no affiliation with the university.

The search is stationed about two miles into Lake Erie with Coast Guard units from Detroit, Cleveland and Canada all participating. The Royal Canadian Air Force is also helping and provided a C-130 plane to aid in the search.

Waves reaching heights as high as 14 feet and gusty, 30 miles per hour winds are hampering the search. The Coast Guard used a helicopter around the area last night, but had to stop due to the inclement weather.