Identities of 3 Midair Collision Victims Released

Federal accident investigators worked today to determine what led to an Otay Mesa-area midair collision that killed five men over the weekend.

A twin-engine Sabreliner business jet carrying four people and a single- engine Cessna 172 occupied only by its pilot collided on approach to Brown Field Municipal Airport shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday.

The Cessna went down in an open-space preserve east of state Route 125, and the wreckage of the Sabreliner ended up west of Harvest Road.

All five victims died at the scene of the crash, which left aircraft wreckage strewn across a field near R.J. Donovan Correction Center and sparked several brush fires.

Three of the occupants of the Sabreliner were identified as BAE Systems employees John Kovach, Carlos Palos and Jeff Percy. The fourth was a contract employee with the military contracting company, which leased the aircraft.

His name and that of the pilot of the Cessna, who was on a cross-country trip when the collision occurred, were withheld pending family notification.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the crash site to gather evidence and begin the process of ascertaining the cause of the accident.

--City News Service