Teams and fans at a lacrosse tournament in Lake Placid planned to hold a moment of silence Sunday morning for two Rochester-area couples killed in a plane crash on Friday.
State and Federal investigators were on the scene at the Adirondack regional airport in Lake Clear Saturday afternoon following the accident.
The names of the victims haven't yet been released, though the plane was registered to an owner in the Rochester area.
According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspaper, the two couples aboard the Piper PA-46 aircraft had been visiting Lake Placid for the Lake Placid Summit Lacrosse tournament.
A Tweet sent by the Penfield, NY, lacrosse club on Saturday read, "A dark cloud has been cast over our Penfield Lax family. With great sadness we are left speechless."
I as well as many others are devastated by the loss of life-long friends. At this time, I am respecting the privacy of the families that have had such a significant impact on my life and countless others in our community. My thoughts, love and prayers are with them during this difficult time. John Schembri, varsity lacrosse coach at Penfield
Penfield is a suburb of Rochester.
Robert Gretz, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, says the plane crashed shortly after take-off and burst into flames.
"We found [the plane] together in the sense that it wasn't strewn out over hundreds of yards," Gretz said. "With a fire it always makes it harder, because that consumes some evidence."
He added, "So far I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary [that might have caused the crash]."
Gretz described the crash scene as a remote area that could be accessed only by all terrain vehicle. It appears that local ground crews monitoring radio traffic "did not receive any emergency distress call or anything like that," he added.
State Police Statement
On August 7, 2015, at approximately 6:30 pm, State Police in Ray Brook were notified of a civilian plane that went down just north of the Adirondack Airport in Lake Clear. State Police Aviation located the downed aircraft approximately one half mile northwest of the airport and Troopers and Investigators responded to the crash site and found the aircraft completely destroyed.
Local fire departments responded to extinguish the flames. Four persons were located deceased among the wreckage. Investigation into the cause of the crash and identification of those on board is ongoing. The scene is being secured overnight pending arrival of the FAA and NTSB, along with the Troop B Forensic Identification Unit to process the scene. State Police were also assisted at the scene by NY State DEC Police and NY Forest Rangers, the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and Office of Emergency Services and local airport personnel.