EAST COUNTYEAST COUNTY — The names of four people killed when a medical transport jet crashed outside El Cajon earlier this week became public Wednesday, identified by a mix of authorities, friends and professional organizations.
The Medical Examiner’s Office identified two of the victims as Douglas James Grande, 42, and Julian Jorge Bugaj, 67. Both men were licensed pilots. Friends and colleagues said nurses Tina Ward and Laurie Gentz were engers on the plane.
The four were on a Learjet 35 business jet that crashed and exploded Monday evening on a residential street about 1.5 miles from Gillespie Field as it approached the airport, killing everyone on board.
Under cold and dark skies Wednesday, several people — presumably friends and family — were allowed behind the yellow tape that surrounded the crash site. They left without talking to reporters. Moments later, authorities pulled down the tape and opened the scene.
Left behind was a makeshift memorial of bright flowers and messages. Among them a family photo — Grande with a woman and two girls — and messages scrawled on the white frame. “I love you so much dad. I miss you,” one read. “You are my everything,” read another.
Grande’s Linkedin page states that he was a captain with medical transport company Aeromedevac, and had been with them since May 2019, also working as a first officer.
Aeromedevac posted on its Facebook page images of two black ribbons and the words: “With a heavy heart we mourn the lives of our friends and our family.” It later added a post confirming “the devastating loss of our colleagues.”
“The loss of our friends has left us an indescribable void. To both us and their families they are unsung heroes, dedicating their lives caring for others in need throughout our community,” the statement read, in part.
A message left with the company seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Ward, one of the flight nurses, was the wife of recently retired Oceanside Deputy Fire Chief Joe Ward, according to an Instagram post Tuesday from the Oceanside Firefighters Association Local 3736, the union that represents that city’s Fire Department .
“We are shocked and saddened by this devastating news and are keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the statement reads.
Acting Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons sent a message to other fire chiefs in the region confirming the death and noting the “greater Oceanside Fire Department family has experienced a terrible loss.”
“Tina was well known within the department and words can’t convey the hurt and loss the family and many of us feel,” Parsons wrote. He also said the Ward family was surrounded by and had asked for privacy.
On her Facebook page, Ward said she had ed Aeromedevac Air Ambulance as a flight nurse in August, and had worked as an emergency room nurse at Palomar Pomerado Health in North County. Her page also includes several pictures of her with her husband and three daughters, the most recent posted just a day before the deadly crash.
Gentz was identified in a Facebook post by the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics, which said Gentz was the president of a local chapter.
“President Gentz will be greatly missed by all who knew her and all who benefit from her selfless contributions to organized labor in the Greater San Diego area,” the post reads.
Gentz also worked with American Medical Response, which provides medical transport services such as ambulances. The company declined a statement out of respect for Aeromedevac, but said it was “grieving along with their team, and we offer our deepest condolences to the organization and the families, friends and colleagues of those involved.”
On her Facebook page, Gentz noted that she started with the company in February, and previously had worked with another air ambulance company.
The plane had taken off from an Orange County airport less than 20 minutes before crashing about 7:15 p.m. Monday in the Bostonia neighborhood outside El Cajon.
After the crash, debris was strewn across Pepper Drive near Somerlane Street, a little west of North Second Street. Pepper Drive reopened Wednesday when crews cleared out of the area. Small pieces of debris remained, crunching and clinking in the road as cars drove past.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident and have not said what led to the crash.
On Tuesday, the NTSB said the plane had been on an instrument approach to Runway 17 at Gillespie Field. “As the airplane neared the airport environment, the pilot requested a change to a visual approach to Runway 27R,” an agency spokesperson said.
It was unclear why the runway change was made, but one aviation expert speculated the pilot may have wanted to use a longer runway because he was landing on a night it was raining and misting in the region.
Max Trescott, a flight instructor who specializes in aviation safety, said it appeared the pilot tried to perform a difficult landing maneuver at a low altitude shortly before the crash.
In the hours before Monday night’s fatal crash, the jet flew to Arizona and Orange County before returning to El Cajon.
According to the Flight Aware website, the plane left Gillespie Field just before 2 p.m., landing at Lake Havasu City’s airport less than 25 minutes later.
The plane took off about 90 minutes after that, and arrived at John Wayne Airport in Orange County just after 4:45 p.m.
The plane left John Wayne at 6:56 p.m. and crashed shortly before 7:15 p.m. while on approach to Gillespie.
