Two Las Vegas Locals Identified In Scottsdale Plane Crash

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - A small plane that crashed shortly after takeoff on a flight to Las Vegas from Scottsdale, AZ had two Las Vegas locals on board.

One was 28-year old James Pedroza, who hosted events at The Mirage nightclub in Las Vegas and traveled the world. Friends said that he traveled the world, having visited 36 countries. He bought the plane earlier this year and posted on Instagram about being excited to get his wings.

Also on the plane was 23-year old Helena Lagos, a student at UNLV where she was the executive director of the Rebel Venture Fund, a student-run venture capital fund. Her biography on the fund's webpage says that she was born in Honduras and moved to Las Vegas when she was 10-years-old. She also lived in Curacao and Italy.

"From a young age she knew she had a passion for business," the biography says. "She aspires to start her own business and become a venture capitalist."

Friends and families have taken to social media, posting pictures and memories of their friends who were flying from Scottsdale to Las Vegas. The plane went down shortly after takeoff. There were no survivors. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. An official said on Tuesday that a preliminary report is expected within two weeks and a final report in about 18 months.

Two other people have also been identified.

One was 23-year-old Forestville, California woman, Mariah Coogan. Reports say that she had left high school to pursue modeling and had been working training horses.

"She's just a bright light," her mother, Stacey Coogan, told the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa. "She's been such a great child to have. I mean, she's my first, and her middle name is Sunshine, and she has proven that name because any room she walks into, she smiles and brightens the whole room."

"I'm going to miss her so much."

She also was a bit of an Instagram celebrity, having amassed 27,000 followers. Coogan had posted pictures of the plane and some of her fellow passengers before they took off.

One of those people was Anand Patel.

Along with his twin brother, he moved to Oklahoma from India almost 10 years ago. He started his own clothing line and frequently traveled.

"I think that he is in a better place," Akash Pate told Fox 10 News. "He's certainly going to be with us forever in his memories, and how he positively influenced and touched peoples lives."

The plane, which took off from Runway 3, crashed around 9 p.m. on the TPC Scottsdale Champions Golf Course by Bell and North Hayden Roads. (Get Phoenix Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).

The FAA says that the plane was a Piper PA24. The NTSB elaborated, saying that it was a 1970 Piper Comanche. One of the questions that they will answer is whether it was properly outfitted to seat six people.

The plane was headed to North Las Vegas Airport. The NTSB says that the identities of the people on the plane will be officially released by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office after autopsies are completed.

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Photo courtesy Al-B/@AL2TheB via Twitter.

Editor's note: This article was updated to exclude details about who piloted the plane. That information has not been released by authorities.

Patch reporter Colin Miner wrote this report.