Third man dies following plane crash

FARMINGTON, Pa. - The third man aboard a small plane that crashed shortly after takeoff at a posh resort in southwestern Pennsylvania died at a hospital where he was taken for treatment, authorities said.

Erick Carlson, 27, of Rockville, Md., was flown to UPMC Mercy's trauma and burn center, where the Allegheny County medical examiner said he died at 5:20 p.m. Saturday.The two other occupants of the Beechcraft, Terry Carlson, 68, and Jason Willems, 26, were pronounced dead after the plane crashed at about 2:15 p.m. Friday about a half-mile from the airfield at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Capital Edge Consulting, a Reston, Va.-based firm that advises clients who have contracts with government agencies, earlier identified Terry Carlson and Willems as company employees and said officials were "devastated" by their loss. The firm also identified Erick Carlson as the third victim and said he was critically injured.

His cousin, Billy Wakeham, told the Uniontown Herald-Standard that Erick Carlson, Terry Carlson's only son, had burns on 93 percent of his body. Willems was soon to be married and the elder Carlson, his uncle, flew nearly every week, Wakeham said.

"He had a lot of hours being a pilot, and he loved the outdoors," he said. "But mainly, he loved his family. He worked a lot, but he loved spending all the time with him he could."

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator took an initial look at the aircraft and the engine Saturday and planned to talk to two witnesses to the crash who have come forward, a safety board spokesman said. The investigator will also be looking at weather, maintenance records and the pilot's records, he said.

The resort was built by 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy, and includes a golf course, luxury hotel, casino and an airfield. It has a 3,800-foot runway, suitable for smaller planes, according to the resort's website.