Instagram stars were among six people who died when a small plane crashed on a golf course in Phoenix after taking off on Monday night, April 9.
The Daily Mail later reported that Mariah Coogan, 23 and Helena Lagos, 22, died in the crash. They were both models on Instagram.
Anand Patel, 26, and James Pedroza, 28, also died in the crash, it was reported. They were on a Piper PA-24 Comanche plane, which went down shortly after taking off from the Scottsdale Airport.
R.I.P. https://t.co/y90SCTPHqu
— Jack Heine (@dadjack) April 11, 2018
Coogan had shared videos from the plane just moments before the crash. She had filmed herself in the plane seat, spinning the camera around to show Patel.
Coogan, in the video, suggested that Pedroza was flying the plane. The Mail reported that he was in the process of getting his pilot’s license, but neither the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would comment on the matter, citing an ongoing investigation into the crash.
Pedroza had bragged about buying the plane on Instagram on Feb. 7, but he only started learning to fly in October 2017, the Mail reported.
A friend who spoke with Fox News confirmed that Pedroza, a host at The Mirage nightclub in Las Vegas, and Lagos were dating.
The Arizona Republic reported that Coogan was a model as well as a horse trainer from Santa Fe, California. “She was eager for adventure, and I always found her easy to speak with,” a former teacher told the paper.
? UPDATE with all 6 confirmed victims. ❤️ Anand Patel (Happy) Age 28❤️ Erik Valente age 26❤️ James Louis Pedroza age…
Posted by Jeremy Gail on Tuesday, April 10, 2018
“She’s just a free spirit, fun loving person,” said another unnamed person in describing Coogan’s personality. “She just didn’t have a negative bone in her body, just the most positive girl I’ve ever met.”
“She’s been such a great child to have,” her mother, Stacey Coogan, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “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.”
Mariah Coogan is survived by her three brothers and a sister as well as her parents.
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