ORANGE, VA Elizabeth "Beth" Marie Paris, 49, and husband Thomas John Mahoney, died when their single-engine plane crashed south of Charlottesville, Va. on Friday, October 24, 2008. Ms. Paris was a Microbiologist for a drug company.

Thomas Mahoney passed away in ORANGE, Virginia. The obituary was featured in Madison News on November 6, 2008, and Orange News on November 6, 2008.

*NOTE: Please forgive. I cannot find the original obituary information. sv

Posted: Oct 24, 2008 11:30 PM EDT Updated: Oct 26, 2008 05:41 PM EDT

State police say an Orange County man and woman died instantly after their small plane crashed in a heavily-wooded area of southern Albemarle County Friday evening. It happened just after 7:20 p.m. about a half-mile from Route 20.

Aviation officials at the Charlotesville-Albemarle Airport say they contacted state police after recieving a distress call from the plane around 7:20 p.m.  Just minutes later state police say they received a call from an Albemarle resident who saw a flash of light and heard loud crash off Route 20.

People at a nearby campground heard the plane pass overhead. "I recall hearing what sounded like an aircraft at high speed," said Jerry Jarosik, a pilot of more than 30 years. "It was a low, fly-by cruise, which, under the weather conditions with the drizzle and such, I thought was awfully peculiar."

A short time later, campers heard a loud boom; some felt the ground shake. "The neighbors last night heard it go down," said Sgt. Lisa Roakes with the Virginia State Police. "And it sounded to them like a big oak tree crashing."

Police responded to the area, setting up a command post at Walton Middle School as they began searching for the plane.  With the help of a helicopter and the Albemarle County Police Department, the wreckage was located around 9:30 p.m. in a densely-wooded area about a half-mile from Route 20.

The bodies of 47-year-old Thomas Mahoney and 50-year-old Elizabeth Marie Paris were retrieved from the plane, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said on Sunday. Mahoney was the pilot and Paris was the passenger.  Both lived at the same residence in Orange, but Geller says their relationship was unclear.  Family members tell us Paris and Mahoney were husband and wife.

Federal Aviation Administration officials say the plane was a Piper PA-24 en route from Asheville, North Carolina, to Charlottesville.  The crash occurred 12 miles from CHO after being cleared for an instrument approach to the airport.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are currenty looking into the cause of the crash.

Press Release

Two people are dead after their plane crashed Friday night, Oct. 24, 2008, in a heavily-wooded area of Albemarle County. The Virginia State Police are still investigating the fatal crash and are in the process of notifying the individuals’ next of kin.

At approximately 7:20 p.m., the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport contacted the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division about a distress call it had received from a nearby plane. Minutes later the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division received a 911 call from an Albemarle County resident who witnessed a flash of light and loud crash off of Route 20. State police immediately responded to the area near Walton Middle School and began searching for the plane.

With the help of the University of Virginia Medical Center’s Pegasus MedEvac helicopter and the Albemarle County Police, the wreckage was located at approximately 9:30 p.m. in a densely-wooded area approximately a half mile from Route 20. The Virginia Department of Forestry then responded to help clear a path through the woods to the scene.

The bodies of a male and female were retrieved from the single-engine plane. State police are awaiting confirmation of the individuals’ identifications from the Office of the Medical Examiner and next of kin notification. The Albemarle County Police are also assisting at the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been notified of the crash. The FAA is scheduled to arrive on scene by noon Saturday.