Initial report on fatal crash: Plane hit trees after engine stopped

VENETA, Ore. - A Cessna on a sightseeing flight crashed and killed all 4 people on board after the plane's engine stopped and the plane hit a grove of trees, according to an initial report filed July 4 by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The June 23 crash killed pilot Jerome Roch Delbosc D'Auzon, 41, of Eugene and passengers Robyn Leigh Weir, 40, of Junction City; Christopher Robin Kent, 37, of Junction City; and Erin Thomas Frank Noble, 27, of Eugene.

All four were part of the Oregon Country Fair family. The flight took off from a small airfield near the fairgrounds.

Witnesses told the NTSB investigators the plane took off and cleared a group of 100-foot trees at 150 to 200 feet above the ground.

The plane's engine suddenly stopped, and one witness reported seeing the plane descend towards another grove of tall trees.

Investigators found the plane's right wing lodge in the trees about 75 feet above the ground. The main body of the plane hit the ground updsidedown about 80 feet away from the point of initial impact.

The crash debris has been recoved and taken to a secure location for further examination, according to the report.