Doug Symiczek and his two sons-in-law died in a small plane crash on July 6. Symiczek's wife and two pregnant daughters were left widowed.
The three men planned to flight to California's Corona Airport in the morning and then head back to go boating on Lake Elsinore.
Kyle Parton's wife was due to give birth that day. His baby girl was born a week later after his death. The wife of Parton's brother-in-law, Jacob Griffiths, is also three months pregnant; the couple had just announced the news a day earlier.
Witnesses said Symiczek's 1967 Piper PA28 suddenly made a sharp turn before it clipping a tree, breaking off its wing. The plane fell into a ravine near Lake Elsinore at 9.21 a.m.
The plane's tail was destroyed and the crash caused a small brush fire close to Ortega Highway. The fire was quickly extinguished.
Initial reports suggest engine failure on may have caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Friends of Symiczek's said he had flown planes since 1990 and had owned the aircraft for more than two decades. One relative said: "He knew what was going on, and that he needed to land right away ... if he hadn't hit the tree, they would have landed safely. It's such a freak accident."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS
Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-WqkTyKK1_70U4bb4k4lQ?sub_confirmation=1
Visit our website for all the latest, uncensored videos: https://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check ou
