Bethesda Doctor, Daughter Killed In Plane Crash

FREDERICK, MD — A Bethesda father and daughter were among three people killed in the Maryland-bound plane wreck that crashed in southeast Indiana Saturday night.

Dr. Louis Cantilena, 65, and his daughter Amy were victims in the crash, according to a statement from Cantilena's employer, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The third victim is identified as Paul Schuda, a family friend of the Cantilenas, who was the director of the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Va.

The single-engine Cessna reportedly crashed 40 miles northwest of Cincinnati. The crash happened after the plane made a stop in Indiana during a flight from Kansas City to Frederick.

Bethesda Magazine reports Dr. Cantilena went to Kansas City to pick up Amy, who was an M.D. and Ph.D. student at a medical school.

Dr. Cantilena "was extremely well respected, very well liked and admired,” Sharon Holland, who worked with Louis, told Bethesda Magazine. “And he will be greatly missed by everyone here at the university.”

>> See Related: Dog Only Survivor Of Plane Crash That Killed 3 Headed To MD

Indiana State Police responded to the crash at around 9:10 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area in the 5000 block of North Hamburg Road in Oldenburg, Indiana. Police said initial reports indicated the plane had crashed and possibly caught fire after Cincinnati Air Traffic Control said it had disappeared from radar near the crash site.

Officers arrived and found the wreckage of the plane on fire in a heavily wooded area behind a home. Firefighters were able to get to the crash scene and put out the flames, state police said.

The three victims and one dog were found dead at the scene, according to state police. A surviving dog was found at a home near the crash site and taken to a veterinarian.

State police said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. The Indiana State Police are conducting a joint investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

The investigation is ongoing and may take weeks to complete, police said.

Patch Graphic