A plane leaving from Gainesville heading to Ohio crashed just outside Cleveland Monday afternoon. All four people on board the plane have been confirmed dead. Two Gainesville residents were flying the parents of an Alachua County businessman back to their Ohio home.
Wesley Roemer, from Keystone Heights, was the pilot and John Mengelson of Florahome was chief mechanic and co-pilot on the flight. The passengers were Donald and Shirley Brown, the parents of Kenn Air owner Kenneth Brown.
The plane took off from the Gainesville Regional Airport at 11 A.M. and the flight logs indicate it had an uneventful flight until the approach to Lorain County Airport, just west of Cleveland.
Witnesses say the plane approached low with one wing down, barely missing a fence, and then crashing nose down into an airport field before cartwheeling to a stop.
Witnesses also state that there was poor visibility at the airport.