Brother of Riverside plane crash victim: She 'would always be there for me'

Brother of Riverside plane crash victim: She ‘would always be there for me’

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An NTSB agent watches as a small hoist lifts a propeller out of the front-yard wreckage the day after a small plane crashed into a Riverside home, killing three people.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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An NTSB agent lifts yellow police tape as Riverside Animal Control officers carry an animal’s body from a home the day after a small plane crashed, killing three people.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A propeller from the plane sits on the roof as an NTSB agent investigates the scene the day after a small plane crashed into a Riverside home.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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An NTSB agent photographs wreckage in a front yard the day after a plane crashed into a Riverside home, killing three.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Riverside city firefighters push a resident in a wheelchair to her home three houses down from where a plane crashed.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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An NTSB agent puts a piece of wreckage on a flat bed truck across the street from where a small plane crashed into a Riverside home.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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NTSB Air Safety Investigator Stephen Stein speaks during a news conference at Riverside Municipal Airport the day after a small plane crashed into a home in the city, killing three of five people aboard the aircraft.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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NTSB and Riverside fire investigators examine the scene of a small plane crash that killed three people and destroyed two homes Monday evening in Riverside.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Investigators look over the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in Riverside on Monday, killing three people and destroying two homes.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A propeller lies on the roof of a Riverside home after a plane crash Monday evening that killed three people and destroyed two homes.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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NTSB and Riverside fire investigators look over the scene of a small plane crash in a residential neighborhood.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Riverside firefighters battle heavy smoke after three people were killed when a plane crashed into a house on Rhonda Road in Riverside on Monday afternoon.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Brittny Mejia

Staff Writer

March 1, 2017 7:10 AM PT

The brother of one of three people killed in Monday’s crash of a private plane in a Riverside neighborhood has spoken out about his loss, according to local news reports.

Brandon Farelas told KGO-TV in San Francisco that his mother, Silvia, survived the crash, but that his 22-year-old sister, Adine, did not.

The five people aboard the Cessna T310Q were returning to San Jose on Monday afternoon after attending a cheerleading competition at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. The plane crashed into a Riverside neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing three occupants. No one on the ground was injured though several houses burned.

Authorities have yet to publicly identify the dead and injured.

“Even at times we didn’t get along so well, argue back and forth like brothers and sisters tend to, she would always be there for me,” 19-year-old Brandon Farelas said. “And now [I] realize exactly what it is I’m losing.”

Farelas said his mother and sister were returning from a competition in which his younger sister had participated. That sister returned to San Jose by bus with the rest of her team, he said.

Last week, Adine Farelas posted a photo to her Facebook page captioned, “Can’t wait for my little get away this weekend.” She tagged her mother Silvia in the post.

When asked where she was going, Adine Farelas replied, “My sisters cheer nationals in Disney land.”

Delmy Pennington, co-owner of the D&D Airport Cafe at Riverside Municipal Airport, said she saw the plane struggling to take off before delaying its departure amid heavy rain.

“It looked like the airplane didn’t start right, something was wrong,” Pennington said.

Later, after it stopped raining, the plane took off, Pennington said, but she was worried because the back of the plane was shaking.

Brandon Farelas said his mother was also uncomfortable flying in the rough weather.

The plane crashed about 4:40 p.m., causing a large fire that destroyed at least one home and damaged several others.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Authorities said a man, woman and teenage girl on board the plane were killed. Two other women were critically injured.

Brandon Farelas said his mother has had surgery on her arm and is being moved to the burn unit of the hospital where she is being treated to have a second surgery.

[email protected]

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

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