Editor’s note: Though CNNhas not identified them until their families and local communities have been contacted, this is one of the victims identified as Jane Kulich.
Waukesha, Wisconsin — A candlelight vigil and service is being held Monday night at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin, for a 33-year-old Milwaukee woman and an 8-year-old girl from Waukesha who were killed on Saturday when their plane crashed while trying to land at the wrong airport.
Jane Kulich, a mother of two young daughters, died in the crash Saturday with her husband, Carl, at Plover Municipal Airport in northern Wisconsin, an airport closer to their home in Waukesha. They had been traveling from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Indianapolis, Indiana, when the small plane had trouble landing, Waukesha County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy William Crabb said.
The two victims and the pilot of the plane that crashed near Kenosha — Virginia and Kathy Sorenson, 62, and Scott Furman, 63 — were all killed when the plane crashed. Virginia Sorenson was the chief executive officer of an aviation firm based in Independence, Illinois.
“We are saddened beyond words by the loss of these three wonderful individuals,” Sorenson’s business partner and daughter, Emily, said in a statement Saturday evening. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kathy’s and Virginia’s families at this time. They are simply wonderful individuals who will be missed by all.”
Conflicting reports as to flight path
Bill Wetzel, Kenosha Fire Department director of operations, said a ground staff member at the airport had reported Saturday morning that the plane did not follow the runway’s airfield markings.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, and a loss of communications from the pilot led to reports that the plane may have flown into a nearby home, Wetzel said.
But Fred Baumgardner, the assistant director at the local fire department who also was assisting in the recovery efforts Saturday, said the plane “obviously crashed out of sight of our firefighters.”
“We don’t see planes when we’re out on the other side of the runway,” Baumgardner said.
Another witness, Eric Weber, said he was visiting the airport when he heard a loud noise.
“We looked out of the window and saw smoke rising over the runway and a fireball on the west side of the runway,” Weber told CNN affiliate WTMJ-TV.
An FAA spokesman said the plane had been attempting to land at the wrong airport.
Representatives for the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board had not replied to CNN’s request for comment Sunday evening.
The plane was registered to Fred Baumgardner, CEO of the Precision Ancillary Services (PAS) company, according to the FAA.
Loved ones remember victims
On Facebook, Kathy Sorenson’s friends and co-workers remembered her as an inspiring businesswoman and dedicated family woman.
“Kathy was a strong, selfless, optimistic woman, who inspired you all by her strong work ethic and steady hand,” Waukesha mother Christine Sbordone wrote. “She was a great mom, who tried to take care of her daughter’s education and take her to everything she needed. Her business was her ‘life,’ and all of us in PAS loved Kathy very much.”
Virginia Sorenson’s business, Virginia Sorenson Travel, focused on senior travel, according to an online search.
“Virginia created a special place in Indianapolis as our first Portfolio Director for the Downtown Indy Area Council/eXquire Group. She was a natural and was ready to strike out on her own from there. We’ll miss her for sure,” iXquire, the agency that awarded Sorenson the first portfolio director position, said in a statement to CNN.
In a statement, Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly described Virginia Sorenson as a “loyal friend who was loved and respected by all in her personal life as well as in business.”
“Virginia will be deeply missed by all,” Reilly said.