Probe of Newry plane crash continues

NEWRY – The investigation continued Saturday into the cause of a plane crash on a steep, rugged mountainside two days earlier that claimed the life of a pilot and three passengers.

For a second day, counseling sessions were held at Lewiston High School, where three of the victims – members of an Air Force Junior ROTC unit taking part in a summer leadership program – were students.

Their names were not immediately released by officials, but the Sun Journal newspaper of Lewiston, attributing its information to family and friends, identified them as Shannon Fortier, 15, Teisha Loesberg, 16, and Nick Babcock, 17.

A message left for a ranking officer with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately answered. The state medical examiner’s office released no information immediately.

Lewiston High School Principal Gus LeBlanc declined to comment.

The pilot was identified as Charlie Weir, a 24-year-old flight instructor.

The four-seat Cessna 172, operated by Twin Cities Air Service in Auburn, went down near the Sunday River ski resort after taking off from the Bethel airport Thursday.

There were no survivors. Recovery crews removed the bodies Friday.

Plans calls for an investigative team to examine the wreckage at the crash site and then have it removed to an indoor facility for further study.

A final report by the National Transportation Safety Board could be months away.

The Sun Journal reported that Fortier had just finished her freshman year and wanted to be an Air Force pilot.

“She had big dreams,” her father, John Fortier, told the newspaper.

Babcock, who just completed his junior year, was reported to be interested in marine biology.

“He was a bright kid who couldn’t sit still long enough in the classroom. Which is probably why ROTC hit him. They didn’t try to sit on him,” his father, Philip Babcock, told the Sun Journal.

The newspaper said Loesberg had just finished her junior year and was said to be already taking college courses.