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The single-engine 1980 Piper PA-32-301 tail number N720RP crashed in a wooded area near Campbells Run Road in Metz, West Virginia on Thursday, August 11, WV Metro News reports and FlightAware information confirms.
Wesley Karl Martin, 30, of Narvon, and Dwayne K. Weaver, 32, of East Earl, died in the crash, according to their obituaries.
It is believed the two men when heading home from an event at Fresh Start Training Center in Washington, Indiana when the crash happened.
The plane took in Shawnee Field Airport in Bloomfield, Indiana at 3:43 p.m. heading towards Deck Airport in Myerstown, according to flight logs.
The pilot and a controller had been "discussing a line of storms and ways to get around it," when the plane "entered an area of light precipitation" and communications from the pilot stopped, the National Transportation Safety Board said citing air traffic control communications logs in a preliminary report obtained by WTRF.
"The rainfall became heavier over the next six miles (10 kilometers) until reaching extreme intensity," the outlet says citing the report.
The plane descended and tracking data was lost, according to the outlet.
The crash happened around 7:15 p.m., Marion County Emergency officials told WDTV 5 News.
The scene was cleared in about two hours according to 5 News.
The plane owned by Skyhawk Associates of Myerstown, had undergone an annual inspection the day before the crash, according to flight records.
Weaver "was an active member of Blue Ball Mennonite Church and served in various ministry groups. He was anticipating a trip to Alaska with Moriah Ministries. He was very much involved with Fresh Start Counseling Ministries, Indiana, where he had served for three years. A relationship with God and his friends and family were top priority in his life, as was demonstrated by his service to his church and to the many struggling young men he walked beside. He lived life with purpose and left this earth on a mission living that purpose," as written in his obituary.
He attended Pleasant Valley Mennonite School, was a graduate of Penn Foster Home School, and went on to work at Sensenig’ s Feed Mill where he worked in shipping and receiving, as detailed in his obituary.
"He loved spending time hunting and fishing, and Jeep riding," as stated in his obituary.
He is survived by his parents, Nelson S. and Esther M. (High) Weaver of Ephrata; a brother, Kendall R. married to Marie Weaver, Schoeneck; niece Maddie, and a paternal grandmother, Mabel Weaver, East Earl, according to his obituary.
His funeral was held at Martindale Mennonite Church, 171 Hurst Rd., Ephrata with Joel Martin, Tim Weaver, and Nate Siegrist officiating at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 25, 2022. His Interment will be in Blue Ball Mennonite Cemetery.
Martin was a member of Calvary Mennonite Fellowship and he had also spent two years in voluntary service at Fresh Start Training Center in Washington, IN, according to his obituary.
Wesley was "a self-employed carpenter and for the last year had been a chicken grower for Tyson Foods," as stated in his obituary. He enjoyed singing as a member of the Men with A Song Chorus, as well as hunting and fishing, as detailed in his obituary.
Born in Ephrata, he was the son of Karl G. and Dolores Z. Musser Martin of Narvon.
He is survived by Karl G. and Dolores Z. Musser Martin of Narvon; "two brothers, Randall S. husband of Sharon R. (Martin) Martin of Reinholds, and Daniel R. husband of Alicia M. (Burkholder) Martin of Reading; a sister, Twila J. wife of Nelson L. Wenger of Otterville, MO; 15 nieces and nephews; a paternal grandmother, Cathryn M. (Good) Martin of Ephrata; and maternal grandparents, Isaac S. and Mary Jane (Zimmerman) Musser of Narvon," as stated in his obituary.
His funeral service was held at Calvary Mennonite Fellowship, 280 Pleasant Valley Road, East Earl, with Bishop Paul Stoltzfus and Ministers Jay Paul Weaver, Matthew Landis, and Jeremy Martin officiating on Friday, August 26, at 10:00 A.M. His interment will be in the adjoining church cemetery.
Both men's family's ask that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent in their names to Fresh Start Training Center, 113 North Industrial Park Road, Washington, Indiana 47501.
Editor's Note: The image of a Piper PA-32 is a stock image, but the exact plane that was in the crash can be viewed here.
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