OLATHE, Kan. — The victim of the deadly plane crash on Sunday in Olathe, Kansas, has been identified as Robert Douglas Ming, 51, of California.
Ming was the founding partner at Quadrant Law Group and former mayor and city council member for the City of Laguna Niguel.
"I've known Robert for probably 15 to 20 years and he was an incredible man. His leadership really has shown in many areas of our community and our community is heartbroken by this loss and we mourn with his family," Elaine Gennawey, current Laguna Niguel Mayor, said.
Ming is survived by his wife and four children.
"When there was something that needed to be done, Robert found a way to do it and he always led in a very positive way and a very kind way and always communicated very honestly," Gennawey said.
The plane crash happened after 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Johnson County Executive Airport.
Monday, investigators said Ming brought his aircraft to the airport for an annual inspection and was bound for Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There were no other passengers on board the flight.
"The investigation right now is really in the very, very early stages. We're doing on scene documentation here on the airport. We have a salvage and recovery crew that is in place right now," John Brannen, senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said.
The NTSB spent Monday going through the wreckage of the plane crash. Brannen said the engine will be sent to another location for a more detailed investigation.
"We don't have a good indication right now of whether he did or did not have power, so one of the things that we'll be doing in the future is examining the engine and the internal components of the engine to see if we can determine if there was power on the airplane," Brannen said.
Sunday's deadly crash is the second crash this month at the Johnson County Executive Airport. The first was on Feb. 4 and the passengers survived the crash.
"It's rare that something happens on one airport so soon after another, it's tragic, that's the main thing," Larry Peet, deputy director at the Johnson County Airport Commission, said. "It's an accident and accidents happen just like highways and we look into it as an industry and NTSB and FAA and see if there's anything we can learn from this."
The investigation into Sunday's crash will take nearly one year to fully complete.
