Family of plane crash victims mourn loss

By: JO MORELAND and SARAH WILKINS - Staff Writers | Monday, April 30, 2007 10:31 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Nichole Burgan huddled with loved ones Monday night on the edge of the shore in Carlsbad as a lifeguard paddled out to sea carrying three roses ---- one each for Burgan's stepfather, mother and sister, who perished Sunday morning when their small plane crashed off the coast.

Nearly 100 people, some clutching pink and white roses, attended the candlelight vigil around sunset for the three victims: Leroy "Lee" Kochert, his wife, Sharon Kochert and Sharon Kochert's daughter, Alexandria "Alex" Meekcoms.

The Coast Guard suspended the search for Lee Kochert and he remained missing Monday, authorities said. The bodies of Sharon Kochert, 59, and Meekcoms, 25, were recovered shortly after the small plane went down, just minutes after taking off from McClellan Palomar Airport in Carlsbad.

The trio had just started their flight to return home to Phoenix, Ariz.

"Lee's a seasoned pilot and sailor, and was prepared if anything happened," Burgan said, in a phone interview earlier Monday. "My mom thought if you were prepared, then nothing would happen."

Exactly what happened is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety board, assisted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The investigation will include the pilot's performance, what was said to an air traffic controller before the crash, and whether the propeller-driven Cessna 182Q built in 1979 was airworthy, said Ian Gregor, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.

"The investigation is still really in its early stages," Gregor said. "These things can take months, even years."

Petty Officer Anastasia Devlin, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, said the agency suspended its search for Leroy Kochert after failing to find him during nine hours of hunting over one square mile of Pacific Ocean off Carlsbad.

"We are not actively searching, although if we get more information that led us to believe he was out there, then we would review the case and reopen the search," Devlin said.

State lifeguard Supervisor Brian Ketterer said his agency was doing land-based search and rescue for anything from the plane.

"Right now (the water is) too high against the bluff, so we're waiting for the tide to go out," Ketterer said.

At the candlelight vigil Monday night, the waves were calm and the sky gray and overcast as family members spoke to the crowd.

Theresa Springer, the partner of Leroy Kochert's daughter, Monica, remembered the Kocherts as "so full of life, they loved to live large. ... What they shared together has brought us together."

Michael Saucedo, one of the fishermen who helped recover the bodies of Sharon Kochert and Alex Meekcoms, said he attended the vigil to "have some closure."

"I thought I was going to be able to dive in and save somebody, but that was not the case ... we did as much as we could," said Saucedo, a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. "I needed some closure."

Many others in attendance did not know the Kocherts and Meekcoms, but came because they are friends with Burgan and her husband, who are both lifeguards.

"We wanted to show support for the family," said Carlsbad resident Dan McCauley, who came out to the beach with his wife and children.

Burgan, who has a 10-year-old daughter and 5-week-old son, said her family had flown from Phoenix to Carlsbad on Saturday morning to see her.

"I told my mom I was having the baby blues," Burgan said. "They were coming over to cheer me up."

Burgan and Springer described the Kocherts as seasoned world travelers who were friendly and safety-conscious.

Lee Kochert also owned a boat, the Namche, named for a village in the Himalayas, Burgan said. She said her stepfather was also a mountain climber who had scaled Kilimanjaro and other peaks.

"They were very friendly, welcoming to people," Springer said. "They enjoyed life to the fullest. They loved life, and loved the people in their lives."

Springer said the Kocherts were very strict about the safety checks they made before they took off in the plane.

Sharon Kochert, also a pilot, insisted on making sure passengers knew how to read gauges and call for help, giving little safety classes before take-off, Burgan said.

She said Kochert had the plane checked out after the couple recently returned from a trip to Australia, and he also had to be recertified as a pilot because of the long trip.

"He passed with flying colors," Burgan said.

She started to choke up when talking about her sister, a personal trainer who recently participated in a fitness contest.

"Everybody loved her," Burgan said, of Meekcoms. "She was the smart and beautiful one. She made everybody laugh."

Her sister, she said, came on the trip at the last minute.

Originally, the family planned to return home Saturday night, but Lee Kochert decided against it because of a thunder-and-dust storm in the Phoenix area.

On Sunday, said Burgan, she dropped her relatives off about 9:20 a.m. at the airport. The plane took off at 9:45 a.m., heading west toward the ocean, authorities said.

Bill Polick, spokesman for the county-owned airport, said he got a report of a "catastrophic incident reported" by a man on the plane just before the crash. However, Polick said he didn't know the details of the incident.

Witnesses said the pilot was trying to recover the plane's flight as the engine sputtered, but there wasn't time before the Cessna crashed into the Pacific about five minutes after takeoff and a mile off the coast, Burgan said.

If people have picked up anything from the downed plane, she said, the family would like to have everything returned to them. Debris, including any wreckage, may be turned over to lifeguards.

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.