Coroner: DNA testing needed to positively ID victims of plane crash near Ebensburg

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·1 min read

Jun. 20—EBENSBURG, Pa. — The two people who died in a plane crash near Ebensburg on Sunday have been presumptively identified, but DNA testing of their remains is still required for positive identification, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said on Monday.

Lees said that his office will not release their names "until we are 100% certain."

"I think that's the best way for us to handle this for all involved here," he said.

Lees said the DNA testing process could take "several weeks."

"I have been in contact with both families," Lees said. "We're going to be obtaining DNA samples from both families, matching that to DNA from these individuals to positively identify them."

An examination of what remains have already been recovered is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but more work will need to be done by the coroner's office afterward.

"This is a slow, painstaking process," Lees said. "It's going to take several days to recover all the human remains, and it's going to take several days to recover the plane."

Lees confirmed that the occupants of the plane were "local" people.

The twin-engine Piper PA-30 airplane was on its way from Ebensburg Airport to Ocean City, Maryland, when it crashed in a wooded area south of U.S. Route 22 in Cambria Township, according to Lees.

The accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates aviation in the U.S., and the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that is responsible for investigating transportation-related accidents in the country.