Memorial services planned for pilot, passengers killed in crash

A memorial service will be held on Thursday for the pilot killed in the crash of a Blancaneaux Lodge plane over the weekend. The service for thirty-five year old Rene Tam takes place at the Municipal Airstrip at ten a.m. But instead of wreaths or flowers, mourners are asked to give a contribution to the first Pilot’s Memorial. Tam, along with American honeymooners Doug and Cristy Scratchley, was killed on November eighteenth when the twin engine Islander crashed into a ravine some three miles from the Privacion airstrip in the Mountain Pine Ridge. A post-mortem has revealed Tam bled to death from an injury to his right leg. Doug Scratchley met a similar end, while his wife Cristy died on impact. Memorial services for the couple will be held in the United States on December first at their hometowns in Sacramento, California and Davenport, Iowa. The Civil Aviation Department is currently investigating to determine the cause of the accident. Adverse weather conditions from tropical storm Gamma were reported in the area at the time of the crash.