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Vigil, Memorial Held For Gaithersburg Plane Crash Victims

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJZ) --A vigil has been held for the victims of a terrible plane crash in Gaithersburg. As we hear from the firefighters who desperately tried to save a woman and her two young sons trapped by flames.

Investigator Mike Hellgren has more details on their efforts as the victims are remembered by the community.

So many showed up to support a family who's lost so much. A sea of candles glowed in the cold darkness at a site of a plane crash that took six lives just days ago. Mourners cannot extinguish their sadness.

"To my heart is a great loss... sorrow," mourner Gloria Mindel said. "I've been crying for a couple of days."

This is when the community comes together when tragedy happens because it could've happened to any one of us," mourner Charmaine Francis said.

"Being here... it just... I can't imagine what she even felt or if she felt and hopefully she didn't,"  mourner Jo Lloyd said.

"Plane into a house. Reported three people in the house," a 911 caller said.

"We have imminent collapse on the second story," a woman said.

For the first time firefighters on the scene describe the dangerous conditions as they tried to save Marie Gemmel and her young sons, Devin and Cole.

"As soon as we pulled up and got out, there was bystanders were there saying there's a family in the house. We kicked in the front door and it was just a mass of flames,"  master firefighter Clark Oliver said.

"Realized that it wasn't a survival environment for victims and the conditions upstairs were even worse than downstairs," fire captain Carl Mauney  said.

The NTSB said the pilot got a stall warning 20 seconds before the crash. A preliminary investigation showed that's because the jet was going too slowly.

But, a former NTSB investigator has recommended for years that federal regulators mandate a low speed warning sign system that could've given the pilot more time to react.

"FAA should be getting to the point where they're almost ashamed of themselves for not doing more," former NTSB investigator Charles Pereira said.

At the scene, hearts are still heavy as a community struggles for answers and tries to cope. Each candle shows they care.

"We wanted to come out, pay our respects, show support... it was nice to see the rest of the community too," mourner Jeff Westley said.

Marie Gemmel's obituary said her last moments on Earth just showed how much she loved and supported her children.

Family members and close friends held a private memorial service Friday night at a church nearby.

An online fundraiser for the family has now raised more than $440-thousand.

 

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